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Micah 6-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Micah 6-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Announcement of Judgment
Chapter 6
1 [a]Hear, then, what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!(A)
2 Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s case,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he enters into trial with Israel.
3 My people, what have I done to you?
how have I wearied you? Answer me!(B)
4 I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I ransomed you;
And I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.(C)
5 [b]My people, remember what Moab’s King Balak planned,
and how Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him.
Recall the passage from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the just deeds of the Lord.(D)
6 [c]With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?(E)
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
[d] Shall I give my firstborn for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 [e]You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
and what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do justice and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.(F)
9 [f]The Lord cries aloud to the city
(It is prudent to fear your name!):
Hear, O tribe and city assembly,
10 Am I to bear criminal hoarding
and the accursed short ephah?[g]
11 Shall I acquit crooked scales,
bags of false weights?
12 You whose wealthy are full of violence,
whose inhabitants speak falsehood
with deceitful tongues in their mouths!
13 I have begun to strike you
with devastation because of your sins.
14 You shall eat, without being satisfied,
food that will leave you empty;
What you acquire, you cannot save;
what you do save, I will deliver up to the sword.(G)
15 You shall sow, yet not reap,
tread out the olive, yet pour no oil,
crush the grapes, yet drink no wine.(H)
16 You have kept the decrees of Omri,
and all the works of the house of Ahab,
and you have walked in their counsels;
Therefore I will deliver you up to ruin,
and your citizens to derision;
and you shall bear the reproach of the nations.
Chapter 7
1 Woe is me! I am like the one who gathers summer fruit,
when the vines have been gleaned;
There is no cluster to eat,
no early fig that I crave.
2 The faithful have vanished from the earth,
no mortal is just!
They all lie in wait to shed blood,
each one ensnares the other.(I)
3 Their hands succeed at evil;
the prince makes demands,
The judge is bought for a price,
the powerful speak as they please.(J)
4 The best of them is like a brier,
the most honest like a thorn hedge.
The day announced by your sentinels!
Your punishment has come;
now is the time of your confusion.
5 Put no faith in a friend,
do not trust a companion;
With her who lies in your embrace
watch what you say.(K)
6 For the son belittles his father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
and your enemies are members of your household.(L)
IV. Confidence in God’s Future
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
I will wait for God my savior;
my God will hear me!(M)
8 [h]Do not rejoice over me, my enemy![i]
though I have fallen, I will arise;
though I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.
9 I will endure the wrath of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
Until he pleads my case,
and establishes my right.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see his righteousness.
10 When my enemy sees this,
shame shall cover her:
She who said to me,
“Where is the Lord, your God?”
My eyes shall see her downfall;
now she will be trampled[j] underfoot,
like mud in the streets.
11 [k]It is the day for building your walls;
on that day your boundaries shall be enlarged.
12 It is the day when those from Assyria to Egypt
shall come to you,
And from Tyre even to the River,
from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain;(N)
13 And the earth shall be a waste
because of its inhabitants,
as a result of their deeds.
14 [l]Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your heritage,
That lives apart(O) in a woodland,
in the midst of an orchard.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
15 As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.
16 The nations will see and will be put to shame,
in spite of all their strength;
They will put their hands over their mouths;
their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake,
like crawling things on the ground;
They will come quaking from their strongholds;
they will tremble in fear of you, the Lord, our God.
18 [m]Who is a God like you, who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but instead delights in mercy,(P)
19 And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our iniquities?
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and loyalty to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our ancestors
from days of old.(Q)
Footnotes
- 6:1–5 The Lord, through the prophet, initiates a legal case against the people. The initial calls (vv. 1–2) signal the beginning of a trial, and the proclamation that the Lord intends to enter into a legal dispute with Israel. One would expect accusations to follow such an introduction, but instead the Lord speaks in self-defense, reciting mighty acts done in behalf of Israel (vv. 3–5).
- 6:5 The Lord calls for the people to remember the saving events of the past, from the encounters with Balak and Balaam (Nm 22:23) during the wandering in the wilderness to the entrance into the promised land (“from Shittim to Gilgal,” Jos 3–5).
- 6:6–8 These verses continue the previous unit (6:1–5), the dialogue between the Lord and the people in the pattern of a trial. The Lord has initiated proceedings against them, and they ask how to re-establish the broken relationship with God (vv. 6–7), and are given an answer (v. 8). The form of the passage borrows from a priestly liturgical pattern. When worshipers came to the temple, they inquired of the priest concerning the appropriate offering or sacrifice, and the priest answered them (see Ps 15; 24; Is 1:10–17; Am 5:21–24).
- 6:7 The questions reach their climax with the possibility of child sacrifice, a practice known in antiquity (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6).
- 6:8 To do justice refers to human behavior in relationship to others. To love goodness refers to the kind of love and concern which is at the heart of the covenant between the Lord and Israel; it is persistently faithful. To walk humbly with your God means to listen carefully to the revealed will of God.
- 6:9–16 The language of the trial resumes as the Lord accuses the people of their sins (vv. 9–12, 16a) and announces their punishment (vv. 13–15, 16b). The city is Jerusalem, and those addressed are its inhabitants. Their wickedness includes cheating in business with false weights and measures, violence, lies, and following the practices of the Israelite kings Omri and Ahab (v. 16a), whose reigns came to symbolize a time of syncretistic worship. The punishment, which has already begun, will include a series of disasters. Finally, the Lord will destroy the city and see that its inhabitants are ridiculed (v. 16b).
- 6:10 Ephah: see note on Is 5:10.
- 7:8–20 The book concludes with a collection of confident prayers for deliverance, affirmations of faith, and announcements of salvation. Most of these verses bear the marks of use in worship, and probably arose in the exilic or postexilic periods.
- 7:8–10 An individual, possibly personified Jerusalem, expresses confidence that the Lord will deliver her from her enemy (cf. Ps 23).
- 7:10 She who said…she will be trampled: in the Old Testament, cities are often personified as women. Here, the prophet is speaking of the enemies’ cities.
- 7:11–13 An announcement of salvation to Zion. The walls of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, its inhabitants who are now scattered from Assyria to Egypt shall return, but the other peoples will suffer for their evil deeds.
- 7:14–17 A prayer that God will care for the people as in ancient days (v. 14) is answered (vv. 15–17) when the Lord promises to do marvelous things. The nations shall be afraid and turn to the Lord.
- 7:18–20 The final lines of the book contain a hymn of praise for the incomparable God, who pardons sin and delights in mercy. Thus the remnant, those left after the exile, is confident in God’s compassion and in the ancient promises sworn to the ancestors.
Micah 6-7
New International Version
Micah 6-7
New International Version
The Lord’s Case Against Israel
6 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;(A)
let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “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.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened(F) you?(G) Answer me.
4 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)
5 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.”
6 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)
7 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)
8 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
9 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]”
Israel’s Misery
7 What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs(AQ) that I crave.
2 The faithful have been swept from the land;(AR)
not one(AS) upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait(AT) to shed blood;(AU)
they hunt each other(AV) with nets.(AW)
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;(AX)
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,(AY)
the powerful dictate what they desire—
they all conspire together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,(AZ)
the most upright worse than a thorn(BA) hedge.
The day God visits you has come,
the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
Now is the time of your confusion.(BB)
5 Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend.(BC)
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips.
6 For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,(BD)
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.(BE)
7 But as for me, I watch(BF) in hope(BG) for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear(BH) me.
Israel Will Rise
8 Do not gloat over me,(BI) my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.(BJ)
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.(BK)
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,(BL)
until he pleads my case(BM)
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;(BN)
I will see his righteousness.(BO)
10 Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,(BP)
she who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”(BQ)
My eyes will see her downfall;(BR)
even now she will be trampled(BS) underfoot
like mire in the streets.
11 The day for building your walls(BT) will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12 In that day people will come to you
from Assyria(BU) and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.(BV)
13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.(BW)
Prayer and Praise
14 Shepherd(BX) your people with your staff,(BY)
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasturelands.[h](BZ)
Let them feed in Bashan(CA) and Gilead(CB)
as in days long ago.(CC)
15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.(CD)”
16 Nations will see and be ashamed,(CE)
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths(CF)
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust(CG) like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling(CH) out of their dens;
they will turn in fear(CI) to the Lord our God
and will be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God(CJ) like you,
who pardons sin(CK) and forgives(CL) the transgression
of the remnant(CM) of his inheritance?(CN)
You do not stay angry(CO) forever
but delight to show mercy.(CP)
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities(CQ) into the depths of the sea.(CR)
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,(CS)
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors(CT)
in days long ago.(CU)
Footnotes
- Micah 6:8 Or prudently
- Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.
- Micah 6:13 Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin
- Micah 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Micah 6:14 Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth
- Micah 6:16 Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people
- Micah 7:14 Or in the middle of Carmel
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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