Micah 6

The Indictment of the  Lord

1  a Hear what the  Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
 2  b Hear, you mountains c the 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, d what have I done to you?
e How have I wearied you? Answer me!
 4 For f I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and g redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and h Miriam.
 5 O my people, remember i what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from j Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know k the righteous acts of the  Lord.”

What Does the  Lord Require?

6  l “With what shall I come before the  Lord,
and bow myself before m God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
 7  n Will the  Lord be pleased with ▼
▼ Or  Will the  Lord accept
 thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
p 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 q what does the  Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness ▼
▼ Or steadfast love

and to s 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 t your name:
“Hear of u the rod and of him who appointed it! ▼
▼ The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

 10 Can I forget any longer the treasures ▼
▼ 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 x with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
 12 Your ▼
▼ Hebrew whose
 rich men are z full of violence;
your inhabitants aa speak lies,
and ab their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
 13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
ac making you desolate because of your sins.
 14  ad You 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  ae 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 af Omri ▼
▼ Hebrew  For the statutes of Omri are kept

and all the works of the house of ah Ahab;
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you ai a desolation, and your ▼
▼ Hebrew its
 inhabitants ak a hissing;
so you shall bear al the scorn of my people.”
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