Micah 6:9-16
New Living Translation
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.[a]
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?[b]
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.”
Micah 6:9-16
New English Translation
9 Listen! The Lord is calling[a] to the city!
It is wise to respect your authority, O Lord.[b]
Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city![c]
10 “I will not overlook,[d] O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away[e]
or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much.[f]
11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,
or a bag of deceptive weights.[g]
12 The city’s wealthy people readily resort to violence;[h]
her inhabitants tell lies;
their tongues speak deceptive words.[i]
13 I will strike you brutally[j]
and destroy you because of your sin.
14 You will eat, but not be satisfied.
Even if you have the strength[k] to overtake some prey,[l]
you will not be able to carry it away;[m]
if you do happen to carry away something,
I will deliver it over to the sword.
15 You will plant crops, but will not harvest them;
you will squeeze oil from the olives,[n] but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies;[o]
you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink.[p]
16 You follow Omri’s edicts[q]
and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty;[r]
you follow their policies.[s]
Therefore I will make you an appalling sight;[t]
the city’s[u] inhabitants will be taunted derisively,[v]
and nations will mock all of you.”[w]
Footnotes
- Micah 6:9 tn Or “the voice of the Lord is calling.” The translation understands קוֹל (qol, “voice”) as equivalent to an imperative.
- Micah 6:9 tn Heb “one who sees your name is wisdom.” It is probably better to emend יִרְאֶה (yirʾeh, “he sees”) to יִרְאָה (yirʾah, “fearing”). One may then translate, “fearing your name is wisdom.” The Lord’s “name” here stands by metonymy for his authority.
- Micah 6:9 tc The MT reads, “Listen, tribe (or staff) and who appointed it.” Verse 10 then begins with עוֹד (ʿod, “still” or “again”). The LXX reads, “who will set the city in order?” The translation assumes an emendation of וּמִי יְעָדָהּ. עוֹד (umi yeʿadah. ʿod…, “and who appointed it. Still…”) to וּמוֹעֵד הָעִיר(umoʿed haʿir, “and the assembly of the city”).
- Micah 6:10 tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (ʾish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (haʾesheh, from נָשָׁא, nashaʾ, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”
- Micah 6:10 tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”
- Micah 6:10 tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”sn Merchants would use a smaller than standard measure so they could give the customer less than he thought he was paying for.
- Micah 6:11 tn Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis.sn Merchants also used rigged scales and deceptive weights to cheat their customers. See the note at Amos 8:5.
- Micah 6:12 tn Heb “are full of violence.”
- Micah 6:12 tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”
- Micah 6:13 tn Heb “and I, even I, will make you sick, [by] striking you.”
- Micah 6:14 tc The first Hebrew term in the line (וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ, veyeshkhakha) is obscure. HALOT 446 s.v. יֶשַׁח understands a noun meaning “filth,” which would yield the translation, “and your filth is inside you.” The translation assumes an emendation to כֹּחַוְיֶשׁ (veyesh koakh, “and [if] there is strength inside you”).
- Micah 6:14 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term וְתַסֵּג (vetasseg) is unclear. The translation assumes it is a Hiphal imperfect from נָסַג/נָשַׂג (nasag/nasag, “reach; overtake”) and that hunting imagery is employed. (Note the reference to hunger in the first line of the verse.) See D. R. Hillers, Micah (Hermeneia), 80.
- Micah 6:14 tn The Hiphal of פָּלַט (palat) is used in Isa 5:29 of an animal carrying its prey to a secure place.
- Micah 6:15 tn Heb “you will tread olives.” Literally treading on olives with one’s feet could be harmful and would not supply the necessary pressure to release the oil. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 119. The Hebrew term דָּרַךְ (darakh) may have an idiomatic sense of “press” here, or perhaps the imagery of the following parallel line (referring to treading grapes) has dictated the word choice.
- Micah 6:15 tn Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”
- Micah 6:15 tn Heb “and juice, but you will not drink wine.” The verb תִדְרֹךְ (tidrokh, “you will tread”) must be supplied from the preceding line.
- Micah 6:16 tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept.”
- Micah 6:16 tn Heb “the house of Ahab.”
- Micah 6:16 tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.
- Micah 6:16 tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.
- Micah 6:16 tn Heb “her.”
- Micah 6:16 tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.
- Micah 6:16 tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (ʿammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (ʿammim, “nations”).tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.
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