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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]

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:9 tn Or “the voice of the Lord is calling.” The translation understands קוֹל (qol, “voice”) as equivalent to an imperative.
  2. 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.
  3. 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”).
  4. 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.”
  5. Micah 6:10 tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Micah 6:12 tn Heb “are full of violence.”
  9. Micah 6:12 tn Heb “and their tongue is deceptive in their mouth.”
  10. Micah 6:13 tn Heb “and I, even I, will make you sick, [by] striking you.”
  11. 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”).
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Micah 6:15 tn Heb “but you will not rub yourselves with oil.”
  16. 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.
  17. Micah 6:16 tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept.”
  18. Micah 6:16 tn Heb “the house of Ahab.”
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. Micah 6:16 tn Heb “her.”
  22. Micah 6:16 tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.
  23. 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.

A Call to Honest Business Practices

The voice of the Lord cries out to the city—
    wisdom fears your name:
        “Heed the rod, and the one who prepared it!
10 Are there still wicked treasures in the house of the wicked,
    along with deceitful and abominable measuring standards?[a]
11 Will I tolerate those who maintain deceptive standards[b]
    and who use deceitful weights in their business?[c]
12 Her rich people are filled with violence,
    and her inhabitants tell lies—
        their tongues speak deceitfully!

13 “Therefore I will make you ill when I attack you;
    I will bring you to ruin because of your offenses.
14 You’ll eat,
    but you won’t have enough;
        and hunger will be common among you.
You’ll horde things,
    but you won’t save them,
and what you preserve
    I’ll give over to the sword.
15 You’ll plant,
    but you won’t reap.
You’ll crush the olive harvest,
    but you’ll have no oil to anoint yourself.
You’ll tread out the grapes,
    but you’ll never drink wine.
16 You keep Omri’s[d] statutes
    and observe the customs of the house of Ahab.
Because you live according to their advice,
    I’ll make you desolate
        and turn your[e] inhabitants into an object of scorn.
Therefore you will bear the shame of my people.”

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:10 Lit. with short, detestable ephahs
  2. Micah 6:11 Lit. maintain evil balances
  3. Micah 6:11 The Heb. lacks in their business
  4. Micah 6:16 I.e. King Omri of Israel, father of Ahab (cf. 2Kings 8:26; 2Chr 22:2)
  5. Micah 6:16 Lit. its