Micah 6
English Standard Version
The Indictment of the Lord
6 (A)Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 (B)Hear, you mountains, (C)the indictment of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 “O my people, (D)what have I done to you?
(E)How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For (F)I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and (G)redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and (H)Miriam.
5 O my people, remember (I)what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from (J)Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know (K)the righteous acts of the Lord.”
What Does the Lord Require?
6 (L)“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before (M)God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 (N)Will the Lord be pleased with[a] thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
(O)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 man, what is good;
and (P)what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[b]
and to (Q)walk humbly with your God?
Destruction of the Wicked
9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city—
and it is sound wisdom to fear (R)your name:
“Hear of (S)the rod and of him who appointed it![c]
10 Can I forget any longer the treasures[d] of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man (T)with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your[e] rich men are (U)full of violence;
your inhabitants (V)speak lies,
and (W)their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
(X)making you desolate because of your sins.
14 (Y)You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 (Z)You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of (AA)Omri,[f]
and all the works of the house of (AB)Ahab;
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you (AC)a desolation, and your[g] inhabitants (AD)a hissing;
so you shall bear (AE)the scorn of my people.”
Footnotes
- Micah 6:7 Or Will the Lord accept
- Micah 6:8 Or steadfast love
- Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Micah 6:10 Or Are there still treasures
- Micah 6:12 Hebrew whose
- Micah 6:16 Hebrew For the statutes of Omri are kept
- Micah 6:16 Hebrew its
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
Modern English Version
The Indictment of the Lord
6 Listen to what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
that the hills may hear your voice.
2 Hear, mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
O enduring foundations of the earth—
that the Lord has an indictment against His people,
and against Israel He will dispute.
3 “My people, what have I done to you,
and how have I wearied you? Answer Me!
4 For I have brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and from the house of slaves I have redeemed you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O My people, remember now
what Balak king of Moab counseled,
and what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and remember what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you might know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
The Requirement of the Lord
6 “With what should I come before the Lord,
and bow down 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 thousand 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 man, 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?
The Punishment of Israel’s Guilt
9 The voice of the Lord calls to the city—
and wisdom will fear Your name:
Heed the rod and Him who has appointed it.
10 Are there still in the house of the wicked
treasures of wickedness?
And the short ephah[a] which is accursed?
11 Should I acquit the scales of wickedness,
and the sack of dishonest weights?
12 Her wealthy men are full of violence,
and her inhabitants speak deception,
and their tongue in their mouth is treachery.
13 Therefore, I have struck you a dreadful blow,
devastating you because of your sins.
14 You will eat, but not be satisfied,
with hunger within you.
You will set aside, but not retain;
and what you retain I will give over to the sword.
15 You will sow, but not reap;
you will tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you will crush grapes, but not drink wine.
16 You observe the statutes of Omri,
and every practice of the house of Ahab,
and you walk in their counsels.
Therefore I will give you over to destruction,
and the inhabitants to derision.
You will bear the contempt of My people.
Footnotes
- Micah 6:10 A dry measure of about ⅗ bushel, or 22 liters.
Micah 6
Holman 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 voice.
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 Balak king of Moab(L) proposed,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,(M)
and what happened from the Acacia Grove[a](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 child of my body for my own sin?
8 Mankind, He has told 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 Yahweh calls out to the city[b]
(and it is wise to fear Your name):
“Pay attention to the rod
and the One who ordained it.[c]
10 Are there still[d] 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,[e](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.[f]
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[g] residents an object of contempt;[h](AN)
you will bear the scorn of My people.”[i](AO)
Footnotes
- Micah 6:5 Or Shittim
- Micah 6:9 = Jerusalem
- Micah 6:9 Or attention, you tribe. Who has ordained it?; Hb obscure
- Micah 6:10 Hb obscure
- Micah 6:13 LXX, Aq, Theod, Syr, Vg; MT reads I have made [you] sick by striking you down
- Micah 6:14 Hb obscure
- Micah 6:16 Lit and its
- Micah 6:16 Lit residents a hissing
- Micah 6:16 LXX reads of the peoples
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