Micah 6–7

GOD’S LAWSUIT AGAINST JUDAH

6Now listen to what the Lord is saying:

Rise, plead your case before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your complaint.^C

²Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit,^am

you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth,^a

because the Lord has a case against his people,^b

and he will argue it against Israel.

³My people,^c what have I done to you,^d

or how have I wearied you?^e

Testify against me!

⁴Indeed, I brought you up^f from the land of Egypt

and redeemed you^g from that place of slavery.^h

I sent Moses,ⁱ Aaron, and Miriam^j ahead of you.

⁵My people,

remember what King Balak of Moab^k proposed,

what Balaam son of Beor answered him,^l

and what happened from the Acacia Grove^Am to Gilgalⁿ

so that you may acknowledge

the Lord’s righteous acts.^o

⁶What should I bring before the Lord^p

when I come to bow before God on high?

Should I come before him with burnt offerings,^q

with year-old calves?

⁷Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams^r

or with ten thousand streams of oil?

Should I give my firstborn for my transgression,^s

the offspring of my body for my own sin?

⁸Mankind, he has told each of you what is good^t

and what it is the Lord requires of you:^u

to act justly,^v

to love faithfulness,^w

and to walk humbly with your God.^x

VERDICT OF JUDGMENT

⁹The voice of the Lord calls out to the city^B

(and it is wise to fear your name):

“Pay attention to the rod

and the one who ordained it.^C

¹⁰Are there still^D the treasures of wickedness^y

and the accursed short measure^z

in the house of the wicked?

¹¹Can I excuse wicked scales

or bags of deceptive weights?^aa

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

and its residents speak lies;^ac

the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.^ad

¹³“As a result, I have begun to strike you severely,^Eae

bringing desolation because of your sins.^af

¹⁴You will eat but not be satisfied,^ag

for there will be hunger within you.

What you acquire, you cannot save,^ah

and what you do save,

I will give to the sword.^D

¹⁵You will sow but not reap;^ai

you will press olives

but not anoint yourself with oil;

and you will tread grapes

but not drink the wine.^aj

¹⁶The statutes of Omri

and all the practices of Ahab’s house

have been observed;

you have followed their policies.^ak

Therefore, I will make you a desolate place^al

and the city’s^F residents an object of contempt;^Gam

you will bear the scorn of my people.”^Aan

ISRAEL’S MORAL DECLINE

7How sad for me!

For I am like one who—

when the summer fruit has been gathered

after the gleaning of the grape harvest^ao—

finds no grape cluster to eat,

no early fig, which I crave.^ap

²Faithful people have vanished from the land;^aq

there is no one upright among the people.^ar

All of them wait in ambush to shed blood;^as

they hunt each other with a net.^at

³Both hands are good^au at accomplishing evil:

the official and the judge demand a bribe;^a

when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,

they plot it together.

⁴The best of them is like a brier;^b

the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.^c

The day of your watchmen,

the day of your punishment, is coming;^d

at this time their panic is here.^e

⁵Do not rely on a friend;^f

don’t trust in a close companion.

Seal your mouth

from the woman who lies in your arms.

⁶Surely a son considers his father a fool,^g

a daughter opposes her mother,

and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

⁷But I will look to the Lord;^h

I will wait for the God of my salvation.ⁱ

My God will hear me.^j

ZION’S VINDICATION

⁸Do not rejoice over me,^k my enemy!

Though I have fallen, I will stand up;^l

though I sit in darkness,

the Lord will be my light.^m

⁹Because I have sinned against him,

I must endure the Lord’s fury

until he champions my causeⁿ

and establishes justice for me.^o

He will bring me into the light;^p

I will see his salvation.^Bq

¹⁰Then my enemy will see,

and she will be covered with shame,

the one who said to me,

“Where is the Lord your God?”^r

My eyes will look at her in triumph;

at that time she will be trampled

like mud in the streets.^s

¹¹A day will come for rebuilding your walls;^t

on that day your boundary will be extended.^u

¹²On that day people will come to you^v

from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,

even from Egypt to the Euphrates River

and from sea to sea

and mountain to mountain.

¹³Then the earth will become a wasteland^w

because of its inhabitants

and as a result of their actions.^x

MICAH’S PRAYER ANSWERED

¹⁴Shepherd your people^y with your staff,^z

the flock that is your possession.

They live alone^aa in a woodland

surrounded by pastures.

Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead^ab

as in ancient times.^ac

¹⁵I will perform miracles for them^A

as in the days of your exodus

from the land of Egypt.^ad

¹⁶Nations will see and be ashamed

of^B all their power.

They will put their hands over their mouths,^ae

and their ears will become deaf.

¹⁷They will lick the dust like a snake;^af

they will come trembling out of their hiding places^ag

like reptiles slithering on the ground.^ah

They will tremble in the presence of the Lord our God;^ai

they will stand in awe of you.

¹⁸Who is a God like you,^aj

forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion^ak

for the remnant of his inheritance?^al

He does not hold on to his anger forever^am

because he delights in faithful love.^an

¹⁹He will again have compassion on us;

he will vanquish our iniquities.^ao

You will cast all our^C sins

into the depths of the sea.^ap

²⁰You will show loyalty to Jacob^aq

and faithful love to Abraham,

as you swore to our ancestors^ar

from days long ago.