1Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. (Mic 1:2)2Hear, you mountains, 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. (Ps 50:1; Ps 50:4; Isa 1:18; Eze 36:4; Ho 4:1)3“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! (Isa 5:4; Isa 43:22; Jer 2:5; Jer 2:31; Mal 1:13)4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. (Ex 12:51; Ex 15:20; Nu 12:1; 2Sa 7:23; Ho 12:13; Am 2:10)5O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” (Nu 22:5; Nu 25:1; Jud 5:11)
What Does the Lord Require?
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? (Isa 57:15; Ho 5:6; Heb 10:4)7Will the Lord be pleased with[1] thousands of rams, 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?” (Le 18:21; 1Sa 15:22; 2Ki 3:27; 2Ki 16:3; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ki 23:10)8He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[2] and to walk humbly with your God? (Ge 5:22; De 10:12)
Destruction of the Wicked
9The voice of the Lord cries to the city— and it is sound wisdom to fear your name: “Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it![3] (Isa 10:5; Isa 30:27; Isa 30:32)10Can I forget any longer the treasures[4] of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed?11Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights? (Ho 12:7)12Your[5] rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. (Jer 9:8; Ho 7:13; Am 3:10; Hab 1:2)13Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins. (Mic 7:13)14You 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. (Ho 4:10)15You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine. (Zep 1:13; Hag 1:6)16For you have kept the statutes of Omri,[6] and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your[7] inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.” (1Ki 16:25; 1Ki 16:30; 1Ki 21:25; 2Ch 29:8; Isa 25:8; Mic 1:13)
Micah 6
New International Version
The Lord’s case against Israel
1Listen 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.4I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.5My 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.’6With 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?7Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?8He 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[1] with your God.
Israel’s guilt and punishment
9Listen! The Lord is calling to the city – and to fear your name is wisdom – ‘Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.[2]10Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, and the short ephah,[3] which is accursed?11Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?12Your rich people are violent; your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.13Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin[4] you because of your sins.14You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty.[5] You will store up but save nothing, because what you save[6] I will give to the sword.15You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.16You 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.[7]’
Micah 6
King James Version
1Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.2Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD' controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.3O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.4For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.5O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.6Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?7Will 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?8He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?9The LORD' voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?11Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?12For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.13Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.14Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.15Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.16For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
Micah 6
New International Reader’s Version
The Lord brings charges against Israel
1Israel, listen to the LORD’s message. He says to me, ‘Stand up in court. Let the mountains serve as witnesses. Let the hills hear what you have to say.’2Hear the LORD’s case, you mountains. Listen, you age-old foundations of the earth. The LORD has a case against his people Israel. He is bringing charges against them.3The LORD says, ‘My people, what have I done to you? Have I made things too hard for you? Answer me.4I brought your people up out of Egypt. I set them free from the land where they were slaves. I sent Moses to lead them. Aaron and Miriam helped him.5Remember how Balak, the king of Moab, planned to put a curse on your people. But Balaam, the son of Beor, gave them a blessing instead. Remember their journey from Shittim to Gilgal. I want you to know that I always do what is right.’6The people of Israel say, ‘What should we bring with us when we go to worship the LORD? What should we offer the God of heaven when we bow down to him? Should we take burnt offerings to him? Should we sacrifice calves that are a year old?7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams? Will he take delight in 10,000 rivers of olive oil? Should we offer our eldest sons for the wrong things we’ve done? Should we sacrifice our own children to pay for our sins?’8The LORD has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must act with justice. You must love to show mercy. And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.
The Lord will punish his guilty people
9The LORD is calling out to Jerusalem. And it would be wise to pay attention to him. He says, ‘Listen, tribe of Judah and you people who are gathered in the city.10You sinful people, should I forget that you got your treasures by stealing them? You use dishonest measures to cheat others. I have placed a curse on that practice.11Should I forgive anyone who uses dishonest scales? They use weights that weigh things heavier or lighter than they really are.12The rich people among you harm others. You are always telling lies. You try to fool others by what you say.13So I have begun to strike you down. I have begun to destroy you because you have sinned so much.14You will eat. But you will not be satisfied. Your stomachs will still be empty. You will try to save what you can. But you will not be able to. If you do save something, it will be destroyed in battle.15You will plant seeds. But you will not harvest any crops. You will press olives. But you will not use the oil. You will crush grapes. But you will not drink the wine that is made from them.16You have followed the evil practices of King Omri of Israel. You have done what the family of King Ahab did. You have followed their bad example. So I will let you be destroyed. Others will make fun of you. The nations will laugh at you.’