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Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with myriad streams of oil?
[a] Shall I give my firstborn for my crime,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
[b]You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
    and what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do justice and to love goodness,
    and to walk humbly with your God.(A)
[c]The Lord cries aloud to the city
    (It is prudent to fear your name!):
    Hear, O tribe and city assembly,

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Footnotes

  1. 6:7 The questions reach their climax with the possibility of child sacrifice, a practice known in antiquity (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6).
  2. 6:8 To do justice refers to human behavior in relationship to others. To love goodness refers to the kind of love and concern which is at the heart of the covenant between the Lord and Israel; it is persistently faithful. To walk humbly with your God means to listen carefully to the revealed will of God.
  3. 6:9–16 The language of the trial resumes as the Lord accuses the people of their sins (vv. 9–12, 16a) and announces their punishment (vv. 13–15, 16b). The city is Jerusalem, and those addressed are its inhabitants. Their wickedness includes cheating in business with false weights and measures, violence, lies, and following the practices of the Israelite kings Omri and Ahab (v. 16a), whose reigns came to symbolize a time of syncretistic worship. The punishment, which has already begun, will include a series of disasters. Finally, the Lord will destroy the city and see that its inhabitants are ridiculed (v. 16b).

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,(A)
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?(B)
Shall I offer my firstborn(C) for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(D)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly(E) and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a](F) with your God.(G)

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod(H) and the One who appointed it.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:8 Or prudently
  2. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.