The Indictment of the Lord

(A)Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
    and let the hills hear your voice.
(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.

“O my people, (D)what have I done to you?
    (E)How have I wearied you? Answer me!
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.
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?

(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?
(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?”
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?

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:7 Or Will the Lord accept
  2. Micah 6:8 Or steadfast love

The Lord’s Case Against Israel

Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;(A)
    let the hills hear what you have to say.

“Hear,(B) you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;(C)
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case(D) against his people;
    he is lodging a charge(E) against Israel.

“My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened(F) you?(G) Answer me.
I brought you up out of Egypt(H)
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.(I)
I sent Moses(J) to lead you,
    also Aaron(K) and Miriam.(L)
My people, remember
    what Balak(M) king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim(N) to Gilgal,(O)
    that you may know the righteous acts(P) of the Lord.”

With what shall I come before(Q) the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?(R)
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,(S)
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?(T)
Shall I offer my firstborn(U) for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(V)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly(W) and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a](X) with your God.(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:8 Or prudently

17 And (A)the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 (B)“The Spirit of the Lord (C)is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to (D)proclaim good news to the poor.
(E)He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and (F)recovering of sight to the blind,
    (G)to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 (H)to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and (I)sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were (J)fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today (K)this Scripture (L)has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

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17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,(A)
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news(B) to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[a](C)

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.(D) The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled(E) in your hearing.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1,2 (see Septuagint); Isaiah 58:6