耶和华谴责以色列

以色列人啊,
你们要听耶和华的话:
“起来,你们要在高山面前申辩,
让丘陵听你们诉说。
群山啊,大地永固的根基啊,
你们要听耶和华的控告!
因为耶和华要控告祂的子民,
责备以色列人。

“我的子民啊,
我做了什么对不起你们的事?
我哪里令你们厌烦?
回答我!
我曾带领你们离开埃及,
把你们从受奴役之地救赎出来,
又差遣摩西、亚伦和米利暗引领你们。
我的子民啊,
你们要回想摩押王巴勒的阴谋以及比珥之子巴兰给他的回答,
要回想你们从什亭到吉甲途中的遭遇,
以便认识耶和华公义的作为。”

我要拿什么朝见耶和华,
在天上的上帝面前叩拜呢?
要献上一岁的牛犊作燔祭吗?
耶和华会喜爱成千的公羊和万条油河吗?
我要因过犯而献上自己的长子,
因心中的罪恶而献上亲生的骨肉吗?
世人啊,
耶和华已经指示你们何为良善。
祂向你们所要的是什么呢?
是要你们行公义,好怜悯,
谦卑地与你们的上帝同行。

耶和华在向耶路撒冷呼喊,
智者必敬畏祂的名。祂说:
“聚在城里的众人啊,你们要听!
10 我岂会忘记恶人家中的不义之财和可恶的小升斗?
11 我岂会放过使用不公道的秤和砝码的人?
12 城中的富人残暴成性,
居民谎话连篇,
满口诡诈之言。
13 所以,我要重重地击打你,
因你的罪恶而毁灭你。
14 你吃,却吃不饱,仍然腹中空空。
你聚敛钱财,却保不住。
你保住的,我要交给拿刀的。
15 你撒种,却不得收割;
你榨橄榄,却无油抹身;
你踩葡萄,却无酒可喝。
16 因为你遵守暗利的恶规,
效法亚哈家的恶行,
随从他们的计谋,
所以我要使你荒凉,
让你的居民成为笑柄。
你们要蒙受列国的羞辱。”

The Lord’s Case Against Israel

Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;(A)
    let the hills hear what you have to say.

“Hear,(B) you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;(C)
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case(D) against his people;
    he is lodging a charge(E) against Israel.

“My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened(F) you?(G) Answer me.
I brought you up out of Egypt(H)
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.(I)
I sent Moses(J) to lead you,
    also Aaron(K) and Miriam.(L)
My people, remember
    what Balak(M) king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim(N) to Gilgal,(O)
    that you may know the righteous acts(P) of the Lord.”

With what shall I come before(Q) the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?(R)
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,(S)
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?(T)
Shall I offer my firstborn(U) for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(V)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly(W) and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a](X) with your God.(Y)

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod(Z) and the One who appointed it.[b]
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
    and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?(AA)
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,(AB)
    with a bag of false weights?(AC)
12 Your rich people are violent;(AD)
    your inhabitants are liars(AE)
    and their tongues speak deceitfully.(AF)
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy(AG) you,
    to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;(AH)
    your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,(AI)
    because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;(AJ)
    you will press olives but not use the oil,
    you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.(AK)
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri(AL)
    and all the practices of Ahab’s(AM) house;
    you have followed their traditions.(AN)
Therefore I will give you over to ruin(AO)
    and your people to derision;
    you will bear the scorn(AP) of the nations.[g]

Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:8 Or prudently
  2. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  3. Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.
  4. Micah 6:13 Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin
  5. Micah 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  6. Micah 6:14 Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth
  7. Micah 6:16 Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people

The Indictment of the Lord

(A)Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
    and let the hills hear your voice.
(B)Hear, you mountains, (C)the indictment of the Lord,
    and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
    and he will contend with Israel.

“O my people, (D)what have I done to you?
    (E)How have I wearied you? Answer me!
For (F)I brought you up from the land of Egypt
    and (G)redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
    Aaron, and (H)Miriam.
O my people, remember (I)what Balak king of Moab devised,
    and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from (J)Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know (K)the righteous acts of the Lord.”

What Does the Lord Require?

(L)“With what shall I come before the Lord,
    and bow myself before (M)God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
(N)Will the Lord be pleased with[a] thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
(O)Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and (P)what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[b]
    and to (Q)walk humbly with your God?

Destruction of the Wicked

The voice of the Lord cries to the city—
    and it is sound wisdom to fear (R)your name:
“Hear of (S)the rod and of him who appointed it![c]
10     Can I forget any longer the treasures[d] of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
    and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man (T)with wicked scales
    and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your[e] rich men are (U)full of violence;
    your inhabitants (V)speak lies,
    and (W)their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
    (X)making you desolate because of your sins.
14 (Y)You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
    and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
    and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 (Z)You shall sow, but not reap;
    you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
    you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of (AA)Omri,[f]
    and all the works of the house of (AB)Ahab;
    and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you (AC)a desolation, and your[g] inhabitants (AD)a hissing;
    so you shall bear (AE)the scorn of my people.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:7 Or Will the Lord accept
  2. Micah 6:8 Or steadfast love
  3. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  4. Micah 6:10 Or Are there still treasures
  5. Micah 6:12 Hebrew whose
  6. Micah 6:16 Hebrew For the statutes of Omri are kept
  7. Micah 6:16 Hebrew its