Micah chapter 6
English Standard Version
1 Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, 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. 3"O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! 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. 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." 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, 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 has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? 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! 10Can I forget any longer the treasures 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? 12Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins. 14 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 You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine. 16For you have kept the statutes of Omri, 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 inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people."
New International Version
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 olive 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 with your God. 9Listen! The Lord is calling to the city— and to fear your name is wisdom— "Heed the rod and the One who appointed it. 10Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, and the short ephah, 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 you because of your sins. 14You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing, because what you save 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. "
New American Standard Bible
1Hear now what the Lord is saying, 'Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. 2Listen, you mountains, to the indictment by the Lord, And you enduring foundations of the earth, Because the Lord has a case against His people; And He will dispute with Israel. 3My people, what have I done to you, And how have I wearied you? Answer Me. 4Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of slavery, And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab planned And what Balaam son of Beor answered him, And what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, So that you might know the righteous acts of the Lord.' 6With what shall I come to the Lord And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? 7Does the Lord take pleasure in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give Him my firstborn for my wrongdoings, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? 9The voice of the Lord will call to the city— And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name: 'Hear, you tribe. Who has designated its time? 10Is there still a person in the wicked house, Along with treasures of wickedness, And a short measure that is cursed? 11Can I justify dishonest balances, And a bag of fraudulent weights? 12For the rich people of the city are full of violence, Her residents speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13So also I will make you sick, striking you down, Making you desolate because of your sins. 14You will eat, but you will not be satisfied, And your filth will be in your midst. You will try to remove valuables for safekeeping, But you will not save it all, And what you do save I will turn over to the sword. 15You will sow but you will not harvest. You will tread the olive press but will not anoint yourself with oil; And tread out sweet wine, but you will not drink any wine. 16The statutes of Omri And every work of the house of Ahab are maintained, And you walk by their plans. Therefore I will give you up for destruction, And your inhabitants for derision, And you will suffer the taunting of My people.'
Christian Standard Bible
1Now listen to what the Lord is saying: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your complaint. 2Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth, because the Lord has a case against his people, and he will argue it against Israel. 3My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Testify against me! 4Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ahead of you.
5My people, remember what King Balak of Moab proposed, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from the Acacia Grove to Gilgal so that you may acknowledge the Lord’s righteous acts. 6What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
7Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin? 8Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. 9The voice of the Lord calls out to the city (and it is wise to fear your name): "Pay attention to the rod and the one who ordained it. 10Are there still the treasures of wickedness and the accursed short measure in the house of the wicked? 11Can I excuse wicked scales or bags of deceptive weights?
12For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; the tongues in their mouths are deceitful. 13"As a result, I have begun to strike you severely, bringing desolation because of your sins. 14You will eat but not be satisfied, for there will be hunger within you. What you acquire, you cannot save, and what you do save, I will give to the sword. 15You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourself with oil; and you will tread grapes but not drink the wine. 16The statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house have been observed; you have followed their policies. Therefore, I will make you a desolate place and the city’s residents an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of my people."
New Living Translation
1Listen to what the Lord is saying: 'Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints. 2And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint! He has a case against his people. He will bring charges against Israel.
3'O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me! 4For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you. 5Don’t you remember, my people, how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead? And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, when I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness.'
6What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? 7Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?
9Fear the Lord if you are wise! His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem: 'The armies of destruction are coming; the Lord is sending them. 10What shall I say about the homes of the wicked filled with treasures gained by cheating? What about the disgusting practice of measuring out grain with dishonest measures? 11How can I tolerate your merchants who use dishonest scales and weights? 12The rich among you have become wealthy through extortion and violence. Your citizens are so used to lying that their tongues can no longer tell the truth.
13'Therefore, I will wound you! I will bring you to ruin for all your sins. 14You will eat but never have enough. Your hunger pangs and emptiness will remain. And though you try to save your money, it will come to nothing in the end. You will save a little, but I will give it to those who conquer you. 15You will plant crops but not harvest them. You will press your olives but not get enough oil to anoint yourselves. You will trample the grapes but get no juice to make your wine. 16You keep only the laws of evil King Omri; you follow only the example of wicked King Ahab! Therefore, I will make an example of you, bringing you to complete ruin. You will be treated with contempt, mocked by all who see you.'
King James Version
New King James Version
1Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the Lord has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel. 3“O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5O My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know the righteousness of the Lord.” 6With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 9The Lord’s voice cries to the city— Wisdom shall see Your name: “Hear the rod! Who has appointed it? 10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure that is an abomination? 11Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights? 12For her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13“Therefore I will also make you sick by striking you, By making you desolate because of your sins. 14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied; Hunger shall be in your midst. You may carry some away, but shall not save them; And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword. 15“You shall sow, but not reap; You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; And make sweet wine, but not drink wine. 16For the statutes of Omri are kept; All the works of Ahab’s house are done; And you walk in their counsels, That I may make you a desolation, And your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore you shall bear the reproach of My people.”