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Micah 6
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Micah 6
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
6 Hear now what the Lord says: Arise, contend and plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy, and you strong and enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with His people, and He will [pleadingly] contend with Israel.
3 O My people, what have I done to you? And in what have I wearied you? Testify against Me [answer Me]!
4 For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house where you were bond servants, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O My people, [earnestly] remember now what Balak king of Moab devised and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; [remember what the Lord did for you] from [a]Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous and saving acts of the Lord.(A)
6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?(B)
9 The voice of the Lord calls to the city [Jerusalem]—and it is sound wisdom to hear and fear Your name—Hear (heed) the rod and Him Who has appointed it.
10 Are there not still treasures gained by wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure [a false measure for grain] that is abominable and accursed?
11 Can I be pure [Myself, and acquit the man] with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?(C)
12 For [the city’s] rich men are full of violence; her inhabitants have spoken lies and their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.
13 Therefore I have also smitten you with a deadly wound and made you sick, laying you desolate, waste, and deserted because of your sins.
14 You shall eat but not be satisfied, and your emptiness and hunger shall remain in you; you shall carry away [goods and those you love] but fail to save them, and those you do deliver I will give to the sword.
15 You shall sow but not reap; you shall tread olives but not anoint yourselves with oil, and [you shall extract juice from] the grapes but not drink the wine.
16 For the statutes of [idolatrous] Omri you have kept, and all the works of the house of [wicked] Ahab, and you walk in their counsels. Therefore I will make you a desolation and an astonishment and your [city’s] inhabitants a hissing, and you shall bear the reproach and scorn of My people.
Footnotes
- Micah 6:5 God reminds His people of His gracious acts in their behalf—how Balak sought to oppose Israel through pagan divination, sending for Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites; how God saved Israel by causing Balaam to bless instead of curse; and how God later led them across the Jordan River into the promised land, from Shittim (Josh. 3:1) to Gilgal (Josh. 4:19).
Micah 6
New International Version
Micah 6
New International Version
The Lord’s Case Against Israel
6 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;(A)
let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “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.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened(F) you?(G) Answer me.
4 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)
5 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.”
6 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)
7 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)
8 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
9 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
- Micah 6:8 Or prudently
- Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.
- Micah 6:13 Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin
- Micah 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Micah 6:14 Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth
- Micah 6:16 Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people
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