Micah 6
Christian Standard Bible
God’s Lawsuit against Judah
6 Now listen to what the Lord is saying:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your complaint.[a]
2 Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit,(A)
you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth,(B)
because the Lord has a case against his people,(C)
and he will argue it against Israel.
3 My people,(D) what have I done to you,(E)
or how have I wearied you?(F)
Testify against me!
4 Indeed, I brought you up(G) from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you(H) from that place of slavery.(I)
I sent Moses,(J) Aaron, and Miriam(K) ahead of you.
5 My people,
remember what King Balak of Moab(L) proposed,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,(M)
and what happened from the Acacia Grove[b](N) to Gilgal(O)
so that you may acknowledge
the Lord’s righteous acts.(P)
6 What should I bring before the Lord(Q)
when I come to bow before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings,(R)
with year-old calves?
7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams(S)
or with ten thousand streams of oil?
Should I give my firstborn for my transgression,(T)
the offspring of my body for my own sin?
8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good(U)
and what it is the Lord requires of you:(V)
to act justly,(W)
to love faithfulness,(X)
and to walk humbly with your God.(Y)
Verdict of Judgment
9 The voice of the Lord calls out to the city[c]
(and it is wise to fear your name):
“Pay attention to the rod
and the one who ordained it.[d]
10 Are there still[e] the treasures of wickedness(Z)
and the accursed short measure(AA)
in the house of the wicked?
11 Can I excuse wicked scales
or bags of deceptive weights?(AB)
12 For the wealthy of the city are full of violence,(AC)
and its residents speak lies;(AD)
the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.(AE)
13 “As a result, I have begun to strike you severely,[f](AF)
bringing desolation because of your sins.(AG)
14 You will eat but not be satisfied,(AH)
for there will be hunger within you.
What you acquire, you cannot save,(AI)
and what you do save,
I will give to the sword.[g]
15 You will sow but not reap;(AJ)
you will press olives
but not anoint yourself with oil;
and you will tread grapes
but not drink the wine.(AK)
16 The statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house
have been observed;
you have followed their policies.(AL)
Therefore, I will make you a desolate place(AM)
and the city’s[h] residents an object of contempt;[i](AN)
you will bear the scorn of my people.”[j](AO)
Footnotes
- 6:1 Lit voice
- 6:5 Or from Shittim
- 6:9 = Jerusalem
- 6:9 Or attention, you tribe. Who has ordained it?; Hb obscure
- 6:10 Hb obscure
- 6:13 LXX, Aq, Theod, Syr, Vg; MT reads I have made you sick by striking you down
- 6:14 Hb obscure
- 6:16 Lit and its
- 6:16 Lit residents a hissing
- 6:16 LXX reads of the peoples
Micah 6
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Brings a Charge against Israel
6 Hear now what Yahweh says:
“Arise! Plead your case with the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.”
2 Hear, O mountains, the indictment of Yahweh,
and you eternal foundations of the earth,
for Yahweh has an indictment against his people,
and against Israel he contends.
3 “O my people, what have I done to you,
and how have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and from the house of slavery I redeemed you.
And I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.
5 O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh.”
What Does Yahweh Require?
6 With what shall I approach Yahweh,
and bow down to God on high?
Shall I approach him with burnt offerings,
with bull calves a year old?
7 Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriads of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does Yahweh ask from you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
The Destruction of the Wicked
9 The voice of Yahweh calls to the city
(it is sound judgment to fear your name):
“Hear, O staff![a] Now who has appointed it?
10 Is there any longer a man in the house of the wicked
treasures of wickedness,
and the ephah of scarcity which is accursed?[b]
11 Shall I regard as pure the one with scales of wickedness,
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Because her rich are full of violence,
and her inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 And I also have made you sick by striking you down,[c]
making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You yourself will eat but not be satisfied;
your hunger will be in your midst,
and you will put away, but you will not save,
and what you save I will hand over to the sword.
15 You yourself will sow, but you will not reap;
you will tread olives, but you will not anoint yourself with oil;
you will tread grapes, but you will not drink wine.
16 For you have observed the regulations of Omri
and all the works of the house of Ahab.
And you have walked in their counsels,
so that I am making you a desolation
and your inhabitants an object of scorn.
So you will bear the scorn of my people.
Footnotes
- Micah 6:9 Or “tribe”
- Micah 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew text is uncertain
- Micah 6:13 Literally “I have made sick to strike you down”
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