Micah 6:1-8

The Voice

This is the fourth time in Micah’s prophecy that the city leaders and general population of Judah are called to “listen up” (Micah 1:2; 3:1; 3:9; 6:1). Each time the prophet has something very important to say to those in Judah.

6 Listen to what the Eternal is saying.
People of Israel, stand up and plead your case to the mountains;
Let the hills hear what you have to say.
²Listen, jury of mountains, to the complaint of the Eternal One;
listen, you enduring foundations of the earth,
For He brings a charge against His people and argues against Israel.

³Eternal One: My people, what have I done against you?
        How have I made you tired of Me? Answer Me!
⁴    I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, paid your ransom,
        freed you from that place of slavery, and sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.^[a]
⁵    O My people, remember how King Balak of Moab plotted against you,
        how Balaam (Beor’s son) answered him, refusing to curse you?^[b]
    Everything happened between Shittim and Gilgal
        as you took possession of the lands I promised you,
    So that you might remember all the saving acts of the Eternal.

⁶Israel: What should I bring into the presence of the Eternal One
        to pay homage to the God Most High?
    Should I come into His presence with burnt offerings,
        with year-old calves to sacrifice?
⁷    Would the Eternal be pleased by thousands of sacrificial rams,
        by ten thousand swollen rivers of sweet olive oil?
    Should I offer my oldest son for my wrongdoing,
        the child of my body to cover the sins of my life?

⁸No. He has told you, mortals, what is good in His sight.
What else does the Eternal ask of you
But to live justly and to love kindness
and to walk with your True God in all humility?

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