Micah 6

The Indictment of the Lord

1 *See ch. 1:2Hear what the Lord says:

Arise, plead your case before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your voice.

2 *Ps. 50:1,4;Ezek. 36:4Hear, you mountains, *Isa. 1:18;See Hos. 4:1the 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.

3 "O my people, *Isa. 5:4;[Jer. 2:5,31] what have I done to you?

*Isa. 43:22,23;[Mal. 1:13]How have I wearied you? Answer me!

4 For *Ex. 12:51;Hos. 12:13;Amos 2:10I brought you up from the land of Egypt

and *2 Sam. 7:23redeemed you from the house of slavery,

and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and *Ex. 15:20;Num. 12:1,2Miriam.

5 O my people, remember *See Num. 22:5what Balak king of Moab devised,

and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from *Num. 25:1Shittim to Gilgal,

that you may know *[Judg. 5:11]the righteous acts of the Lord."

What Does the Lord Require?

6 *[Hos. 5:6;Heb. 10:4] "With what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before *Isa. 57:15God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7 *See 1 Sam. 15:22Will the Lord be pleased with*6:7 Or Will the Lord accept thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

*2 Kgs. 3:27;16:3;21:6;23:10;[Lev. 18:21]Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;

and *[Deut. 10:12] what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,*6:8 Or steadfast love

and to *[Gen. 5:22]walk humbly with your God?

Destruction of the Wicked

9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city—

and it is sound wisdom to fear *Isa. 30:27your name:

"Hear of *Isa. 10:5;30:32the rod and of him who appointed it!*6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

10 Can I forget any longer the treasures*6:10 Or Are there still treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

and the scant measure that is accursed?

11 Shall I acquit the man *See Hos. 12:7with wicked scales

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12 Your*6:12 Hebrew whose rich men are *Amos 3:10;Hab. 1:2,3full of violence;

your inhabitants *Hos. 7:13speak lies,

and *Jer. 9:8their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,

*ch. 7:13making you desolate because of your sins.

14 *Hos. 4:10You shall eat, but not be satisfied,

and there shall be hunger within you;

you shall put away, but not preserve,

and what you preserve I will give to the sword.

15 *[Zeph. 1:13;Hag. 1:6]You shall sow, but not reap;

you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;

you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.

16 For you have kept the statutes of *1 Kgs. 16:25,26;[ch. 1:13] Omri,*6:16 Hebrew For the statutes of Omri are kept

and all the works of the house of *See 1 Kgs. 16:30-33;21:25,26Ahab;

and you have walked in their counsels,

that I may make you *See 2 Chr. 29:8a desolation, and your*6:16 Hebrew its inhabitants *See 2 Chr. 29:8a hissing;

so you shall bear *Isa. 25:8the scorn of my people."