Micah 6:1-16
6 Hear, please, what Jehovah is saying.
Get up, present a legal case before the mountains,And may the hills hear your voice.+
2 Hear, O mountains, the legal case of Jehovah,You firm foundations of the earth,+For Jehovah has a legal case with his people;It is against Israel that he will argue:+
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I tired you out?+
Testify against me.
4 For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,+From the house of slavery I redeemed you;+I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Mirʹi·am.+
5 My people, remember, please, what King Baʹlak of Moʹab proposed,+And what Baʹlaam the son of Beʹor answered him+—What took place from Shitʹtim+ to Gilʹgal+—So that you may know the righteous acts of Jehovah.”
6 With what will I come before Jehovah?
With what will I bow before God on high?
Will I come before him with whole burnt offerings,With year-old calves?+
7 Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams,With tens of thousands of torrents of oil?+
Will I give my firstborn son for my revolt,The fruit of my body for my sin?*+
8 He has told you, O man, what is good.
And what is Jehovah requiring* of you?
Only to exercise justice,*+ to cherish loyalty,*+And to walk in modesty+ with your God!+
9 The voice of Jehovah calls out to the city;Those with practical wisdom will fear your name.
Pay attention to the rod and to the one who appointed it.+
10 Are there still the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wickedAnd the incomplete eʹphah measure* that is detestable?
11 Can I be morally clean* with wicked scales,With a bag of fraudulent stone weights?+
12 For her rich men are full of violence,And her inhabitants speak lies;+Their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.+
13 “Therefore, I will wound you by striking you,+Making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;You will be empty inside.+
What you remove, you will not carry off safely,And what you do carry off, I will give to the sword.
15 You will sow seed, but you will not reap.
You will tread olives, but you will not use the oil;And you will make new wine, but you will drink no wine.+
16 For you observe the statutes of Omʹri and all the work of the house of Aʹhab,+And you walk in accord with their advice.
That is why I will make you an object of horrorAnd her inhabitants something to be whistled at;+And you will bear the scorn of the peoples.”+
Footnotes
^ Or “for the sin of my soul?”
^ Or “to be kind and loyal in your love.” Lit., “to love loyal love.”
^ Or “to be just; to be fair.”
^ Or “asking back.”
^ Or “be innocent.”