Micah 6
New American Standard Bible
God’s Indictment of His People
6 Hear now what the Lord is saying,
“Arise, plead your case [a]before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
2 Listen, you mountains, to the indictment by the Lord,
And you enduring (A)foundations of the earth,
Because the (B)Lord has a case against His people;
And He will dispute with Israel.
3 (C)My people, (D)what have I done to you,
And (E)how have I wearied you? Answer Me.
4 Indeed, I (F)brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I (G)redeemed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you (H)Moses, Aaron, and (I)Miriam.
5 My people, remember now
What (J)Balak king of Moab planned
And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
And what happened from (K)Shittim to (L)Gilgal,
[b]So that you might know the (M)righteous acts of the Lord.”
What God Requires of Mankind
6 (N)With what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with (O)burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Does the Lord take pleasure in (P)thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of [c]oil?
Shall I give Him my (Q)firstborn for my wrongdoings,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has (R)told you, mortal one, what is good;
And (S)what does the Lord require of you
But to (T)do justice, to (U)love [d]kindness,
And to walk [e](V)humbly with your God?
9 The voice of the Lord will call to the city—
And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:
“[f]Hear, you tribe. Who has designated [g]its time?
10 Is there still a person in the wicked house,
Along with treasures of (W)wickedness,
And a [h](X)short measure that is cursed?
11 Can I justify dishonest (Y)balances,
And a bag of fraudulent weights?
12 For the rich people of [i]the city are full of (Z)violence,
Her residents speak (AA)lies,
And their (AB)tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 So also I will make you (AC)sick, striking you down,
(AD)Making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You will eat, but you will (AE)not be satisfied,
And your filth will be in your midst.
You will try to remove valuables for safekeeping,
But you will (AF)not save it all,
And what you do save I will turn over to the sword.
15 You will sow but you will (AG)not harvest.
You will tread the olive press but will not anoint yourself with oil;
And tread out sweet wine, but you will (AH)not drink any wine.
16 The statutes of (AI)Omri
And every work of the house of (AJ)Ahab are maintained,
And you (AK)walk by their plans.
Therefore I will give you up for (AL)destruction,
And [j]your inhabitants for [k](AM)derision,
And you will suffer the (AN)taunting of My people.”
Footnotes
- Micah 6:1 Lit with
- Micah 6:5 Lit In order to know
- Micah 6:7 I.e., olive oil
- Micah 6:8 Or loyalty
- Micah 6:8 Or circumspectly
- Micah 6:9 Or Hear about the rod and who designated it
- Micah 6:9 Lit it
- Micah 6:10 Lit shrunken ephah
- Micah 6:12 Lit her are
- Micah 6:16 Lit her
- Micah 6:16 Lit whistling (in mockery)
Micah 6
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Case against Israel
6 Listen to what the Lord is saying:
“Stand up and state your case against me.
Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
2 And now, O mountains,
listen to the Lord’s complaint!
He has a case against his people.
He will bring charges against Israel.
3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
What have I done to make you tired of me?
Answer me!
4 For I brought you out of Egypt
and redeemed you from slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.
5 Don’t you remember, my people,
how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed
and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?
And remember your journey from Acacia Grove[a] to Gilgal,
when I, the Lord, did everything I could
to teach you about my faithfulness.”
6 What can we bring to the Lord?
Should we bring him burnt offerings?
Should we bow before God Most High
with offerings of yearling calves?
7 Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?
8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
9 Fear the Lord if you are wise!
His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:
“The armies of destruction are coming;
the Lord is sending them.[b]
10 What shall I say about the homes of the wicked
filled with treasures gained by cheating?
What about the disgusting practice
of measuring out grain with dishonest measures?[c]
11 How can I tolerate your merchants
who use dishonest scales and weights?
12 The rich among you have become wealthy
through extortion and violence.
Your citizens are so used to lying
that their tongues can no longer tell the truth.
13 “Therefore, I will wound you!
I will bring you to ruin for all your sins.
14 You will eat but never have enough.
Your hunger pangs and emptiness will remain.
And though you try to save your money,
it will come to nothing in the end.
You will save a little,
but I will give it to those who conquer you.
15 You will plant crops
but not harvest them.
You will press your olives
but not get enough oil to anoint yourselves.
You will trample the grapes
but get no juice to make your wine.
16 You keep only the laws of evil King Omri;
you follow only the example of wicked King Ahab!
Therefore, I will make an example of you,
bringing you to complete ruin.
You will be treated with contempt,
mocked by all who see you.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
