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Micah 6

Micah 5Micah 7

Micah 6 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Lord’s Challenge to His People

6 The Lord said to his people:

Come and present your case
    to the hills and mountains.
2 Israel, I am bringing charges
    against you—
I call upon the mountains
and the earth’s firm foundation
    to be my witnesses.

3 My people, have I wronged you
in any way at all?
    Please tell me.
4 I rescued you from Egypt,
    where you were slaves.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam
    to be your leaders.
5 Don’t forget the evil plans
    of King Balak of Moab
or what Balaam son of Beor[a]
    said to him.
Remember how I, the Lord,
    saved you many times
on your way from Acacia
    to Gilgal.[b]

True Obedience

6 What offering should I bring
when I bow down to worship
    the Lord God Most High?
Should I try to please him[c]
by sacrificing
    calves a year old?
7 Will thousands of sheep
or rivers of olive oil
    make God satisfied with me?
Should I sacrifice to the Lord
my first-born child
as payment
    for my terrible sins?
8 The Lord God has told us
what is right
    and what he demands:
“See that justice is done,
let mercy be your first concern,
    and humbly obey your God.”

Cheating and Violence

9 I am the Lord,
and it makes sense to respect
    my power to punish.
So listen to my message
    for the city of Jerusalem:[d]
10 You store up stolen treasures
    and use dishonest scales.[e]
11 But I, the Lord, will punish you
for cheating with weights
    and with measures.
12 You rich people are violent,
    and everyone tells lies.

13 Because of your sins,
I will wound you
and leave you
    ruined and defenseless.
14 You will eat,
    but still be hungry;
you will store up goods,
    but lose everything—
I, the Lord, will let it all
    be captured in war.
15 You won’t harvest what you plant
or use the oil
    from your olive trees
or drink the wine
    from grapes you grow.

16 Jerusalem, this will happen
    because you followed
the sinful example
    of kings Omri and Ahab.[f]
Now I will destroy you
    and your property.
Then the people of every nation
    will make fun and insult you.

Footnotes:

  1. 6.5 Balak. . . Beor: See Numbers 22-24.
  2. 6.5 Acacia to Gilgal: Acacia was where the Israelites camped after the experience with Balaam (see Numbers 25.1; Joshua 2.1; 3.1); Gilgal was where they camped while waiting to attack Jericho (see Joshua 4.19—5.12).
  3. 6.6 try to please him: This refers to what are traditionally called “burnt sacrifices,” which were offered as a way of pleasing the Lord.
  4. 6.9 Jerusalem: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.
  5. 6.10 scales: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
  6. 6.16 Omri and Ahab: King Ahab was the son of Omri and the husband of the evil Jezebel. Almost two centuries before Micah, the prophet Elijah had spoken against the idolatry and the other sinful practices that Ahab had encouraged in Israel (see 1 Kings 16.21-34; 18.1-18; 21.1-26).
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

Micah 6 New International Version (NIV)

The Lord’s Case Against Israel

6 Listen to what the Lord says:

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

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

3 “My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
    also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember
    what Balak king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

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

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
    and to fear your name is wisdom—
    “Heed the rod 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?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
    with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
    your inhabitants are liars
    and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
    to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
    your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,
    because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
    you will press olives but not use the oil,
    you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
    and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
    you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
    and your people to derision;
    you will bear the scorn 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
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
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