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Micah 6:6-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Micah 6:6-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
What God Requires
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”(A)
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God?(B)
Cheating and Violence to Be Punished
9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city
(and he shall save those who fear his name[a]):
Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city![b]
10 Can I forget[c] the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked
and the despicable false measure?(C)
11 Can I tolerate wicked scales
and a bag of dishonest weights?(D)
12 Your[d] wealthy are full of violence;
your[e] inhabitants speak lies
with tongues of deceit in their mouths.
13 Therefore I have begun[f] to strike you down,
making you desolate because of your sins.(E)
14 You shall eat but not be satisfied,
and there shall be a gnawing hunger within you;
you shall put away but not save,
and what you save, I will hand over to the sword.(F)
15 You shall sow but not reap;
you shall tread olives but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes but not drink wine.(G)
16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri[g]
and all the works of the house of Ahab,
and you have followed their counsels.
Therefore I will make you a desolation and your[h] inhabitants an object of hissing,
so you shall bear the scorn of my people.(H)
Micah 6:6-16
New International Version
Micah 6:6-16
New International Version
6 With what shall I come before(A) the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?(B)
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,(C)
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?(D)
Shall I offer my firstborn(E) for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(F)
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly(G) and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a](H) with your God.(I)
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
and to fear your name is wisdom—
“Heed the rod(J) 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?(K)
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,(L)
with a bag of false weights?(M)
12 Your rich people are violent;(N)
your inhabitants are liars(O)
and their tongues speak deceitfully.(P)
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy(Q) you,
to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;(R)
your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,(S)
because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;(T)
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.(U)
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri(V)
and all the practices of Ahab’s(W) house;
you have followed their traditions.(X)
Therefore I will give you over to ruin(Y)
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn(Z) of the nations.[g]”
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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.