Micah 6:7–12

7 Will 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?

8 He 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.

9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—

and to fear your name is wisdom—

“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.

10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,

and the short ephah, which is accursed?

11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,

with a bag of false weights?

12 Your rich people are violent;

your inhabitants are liars

and their tongues speak deceitfully.

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?”

8 He 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?

9 The 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!

10 Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

and the scant measure that is accursed?

11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12 Your rich men are full of violence;

your inhabitants speak lies,

and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

7 Should we offer him thousands of rams

and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Should we sacrifice our firstborn children

to pay for our sins?

8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,

and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

9 Fear the Lord if you are wise!

His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:

“The armies of destruction are coming;

the Lord is sending them.

10 What 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?

11 How can I tolerate your merchants

who use dishonest scales and weights?

12 The 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.

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?

8 He 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?

9 The Lord’s voice cries to the city—

Wisdom shall see Your name:

“Hear the rod!

Who has appointed it?

10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness

In the house of the wicked,

And the short measure that is an abomination?

11 Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales,

And with the bag of deceitful weights?

12 For her rich men are full of violence,

Her inhabitants have spoken lies,

And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

7 Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand male sheep?

Will he be pleased with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Should I give my first child for the evil I have done?

Should I give my very own child for my sin?”

8 The Lord has told you, human, what is good;

he has told you what he wants from you:

to do what is right to other people,

love being kind to others,

and live humbly, obeying your God.

9 The voice of the Lord calls to the city,

and the wise person honors him.

So pay attention to the rod of punishment;

pay attention to the One who threatens to punish.

10 Are there still in the wicked house

wicked treasures

and the cursed false measure?

11 Can I forgive people who cheat others

with wrong weights and scales?

12 The rich people of the city

do cruel things.

Its people tell lies;

they do not tell the truth.

7 will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?

9 The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 10 Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure that is abominable? 11 Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights? 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

7 Will Jehovah take pleasure in thousands of rams, in 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? 8 He hath shewn thee, O man, what is good: and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with thy God?

9 Jehovah’s voice crieth unto the city, and wisdom looketh on thy name. Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 10 Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure which is abominable? 11 Shall I be pure with the unjust balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? 12 For her rich men are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams 

or with endless streams of olive oil? 

Should I give him my firstborn child because of my rebellious acts? 

Should I give him my young child for my sin? 

8 You mortals, the Lord has told you what is good. 

This is what the Lord requires from you: 

to do what is right, 

to love mercy, 

and to live humbly with your God. 

9 The voice of the Lord calls out to the city. 

(The fear of your name is wisdom.) 

“Listen, you tribe assembled in the city.

10 I have cursed all the wicked people who use their money for evil 

and use inaccurate weights and measures. 

11 I cannot tolerate dishonest scales 

and bags filled with inaccurate weights. 

12 The rich people in the city are violent. 

Those who live in the city speak lies, 

and their tongues speak deceitfully. 

7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams

or with ten thousand streams of oil?

Should I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the child of my body for my own sin?

8 Mankind, He has told 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.

9 The voice of Yahweh calls out to the city

(and it is wise to fear Your name):

“Pay attention to the rod

and the One who ordained it.

10 Are there still the treasures of wickedness

and the accursed short measure

in the house of the wicked?

11 Can I excuse wicked scales

or bags of deceptive weights?

12 For the wealthy of the city are full of violence,

and its residents speak lies;

the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.

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?”

8 He has told you, O mortal, 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?

9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city

(and he shall save those who fear his name):

Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city!

10 Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked

and the despicable false measure?

11 Can I tolerate wicked scales

and a bag of dishonest weights?

12 Your wealthy are full of violence;

your inhabitants speak lies

with tongues of deceit in their mouths.

7 Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams,

with myriads of rivers of oil?

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 mortal, what is good,

and what does Yahweh ask from you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

9 The voice of Yahweh calls to the city

(it is sound judgment to fear your name):

“Hear, O staff! Now who has appointed it?

10 Is there any longer a man in the house of the wicked

treasures of wickedness,

and the ephah of scarcity which is accursed?

11 Shall I regard as pure the one with scales of wickedness,

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12 Because her rich are full of violence,

and her inhabitants speak lies,

and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams?

Will he take delight in 10,000 rivers of olive oil?

Should we offer our oldest sons

for the wrong things we’ve done?

Should we sacrifice our own children

to pay for our sins?”

8 The Lord has shown you what is good.

He has told you what he requires of you.

You must treat people fairly.

You must love others faithfully.

And you must be very careful to live

the way your God wants you to.

9 The 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.

10 You 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.

11 Should I forgive you who use dishonest scales?

You use weights that weigh things heavier

or lighter than they really are.

12 The rich people among you harm others.

You are always telling lies.

You try to fool others by what you say.

7 Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams,

In ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,

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

8 He has told you, O man, 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?

9 The voice of the Lord will call to the city—

And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:

“Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed its time?

10 “Is there yet a man in the wicked house,

Along with treasures of wickedness

And a short measure that is cursed?

11 “Can I justify wicked scales

And a bag of deceptive weights?

12 “For the rich men of the city are full of violence,

Her residents speak lies,

And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.