God’s Lawsuit against Judah

Now listen to what the Lord is saying:

Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
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.
My people,(D) what have I done to you,(E)
or how have I wearied you?(F)
Testify against Me!
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.
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)

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?
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?

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

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

  1. Micah 6:5 Or Shittim
  2. Micah 6:9 = Jerusalem
  3. Micah 6:9 Or attention, you tribe. Who has ordained it?; Hb obscure
  4. Micah 6:10 Hb obscure
  5. Micah 6:13 LXX, Aq, Theod, Syr, Vg; MT reads I have made [you] sick by striking you down
  6. Micah 6:14 Hb obscure
  7. Micah 6:16 Lit and its
  8. Micah 6:16 Lit residents a hissing
  9. Micah 6:16 LXX reads of the peoples

Hear ye now what Jehovah saith: Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O ye mountains, Jehovah’s controversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; remember from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteous acts of Jehovah.

Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?

The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will [a]see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 10 Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant [b]measure that is abominable? 11 Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights? 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13 Therefore I also have smitten thee with a grievous wound; I have made thee desolate because of thy sins. 14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy [c]humiliation shall be in the midst of thee: and thou shalt put away, but shalt not save; and that which thou savest will I give up to the sword. 15 Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt not drink the wine. 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I may make thee [d]a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: and ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:9 According to Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac, fear.
  2. Micah 6:10 Hebrew ephah.
  3. Micah 6:14 Or, emptiness
  4. Micah 6:16 Or, an astonishment

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)

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod(Z) and the One who appointed it.[b]
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
    and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?(AA)
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,(AB)
    with a bag of false weights?(AC)
12 Your rich people are violent;(AD)
    your inhabitants are liars(AE)
    and their tongues speak deceitfully.(AF)
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy(AG) you,
    to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;(AH)
    your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,(AI)
    because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;(AJ)
    you will press olives but not use the oil,
    you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.(AK)
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri(AL)
    and all the practices of Ahab’s(AM) house;
    you have followed their traditions.(AN)
Therefore I will give you over to ruin(AO)
    and your people to derision;
    you will bear the scorn(AP) of the nations.[g]

Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:8 Or prudently
  2. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  3. Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.
  4. Micah 6:13 Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin
  5. Micah 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  6. Micah 6:14 Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth
  7. Micah 6:16 Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people