弥迦书 6
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
耶和华谴责以色列
6 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。
2 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。
3 “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！
4 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。
5 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。”
6 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？
7 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？
8 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。
9 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。”
Micah 6
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.
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.
Micah 6
New Life Version
The Lord Speaks against Israel
6 Listen to what the Lord says: “Stand up and make your cause known in front of the mountains. Let the hills hear your voice. 2 Listen to the Lord’s cause, you mountains and bases of the earth that last forever. The Lord has something against His people, and will speak against Israel. 3 My people, what have I done to you? How have I made it hard for you? Answer Me. 4 I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I took you out of the land where you were servants. And I sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead you. 5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab said, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him. Remember what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the good things the Lord has done.”
What the Lord Wants
6 What should I bring to the Lord when I bow down before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt gifts, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with 10,000 rivers of oil? Should I give my first-born to pay for not obeying? Should I give the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 O man, He has told you what is good. What does the Lord ask of you but to do what is fair and to love kindness, and to walk without pride with your God?
Israel Is Punished
9 The voice of the Lord is calling to the city, and it is wise to fear Your name: “Listen, O family of Judah, you who are gathered in the city. 10 O sinful house, can I forget the riches you got by wrong-doing? You lied about the weight of things, which I hate. 11 Can I make a man not guilty who lies and has false weights in his bag? 12 The rich men of the city have hurt many people. Her people are liars. Their tongues in their mouths speak false words. 13 So I have begun to punish you, to destroy you because of your sins. 14 You will eat, but you will not be filled. Your stomachs will still be empty. You will store up, but save nothing. And what you save I will give to the sword. 15 You will plant, but you will not gather. You will crush the olive, but you will not pour oil on yourself. You will crush the grapes, but you will not drink wine. 16 You have kept the laws of Omri and all the works of the people of Ahab. You have followed their ways. So I will give you up to be destroyed, and your people will be made fun of. You, My people, will be put to shame.”
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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