Micah 6–7

The ’s Case Against Israel

6Listen to the Lord’s case against Israel.

Arise, O Lord, and present your case; let the mountains and the hills hear what you say.

²You mountains, you everlasting foundations of the earth, listen to the Lord’s case! The Lord has a case against his people. He is going to bring an accusation against Israel.

³The Lord says, “My people, what have I done to you? How have I been a burden to you? Answer me. ^4*I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. ^5*My people, remember what King Balak of Moab planned to do to you and how Balaam son of Beor answered him. Remember the things that happened on the way from the camp at Acacia to Gilgal. Remember these things and you will realize what I did in order to save you.”

What the Requires

⁶What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him? ⁷Will the Lord be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my firstborn child to pay for my sins? ⁸No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

⁹It is wise to fear the Lord. He calls to the city, “Listen, you people who assemble in the city!^{j 10}In the houses of evil people are treasures which they got dishonestly. They use false measures, a thing that I hate.^{k 11}How can I forgive those who use false scales and weights? ¹²Your rich people exploit the poor, and all of you are liars. ¹³So I have already begun^l your ruin and destruction because of your sins. ¹⁴You will eat, but not be satisfied—in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything you do save I will destroy in war. ¹⁵You will sow corn, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never be able to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it. ^16*This will happen because you have followed the evil practices of King Omri and of his son, King Ahab. You have continued their policies, and so I will bring you to ruin, and everyone will despise you. People^m everywhere will treat you with contempt.”ⁿ

Israel’s Moral Corruption

7It’s hopeless! I am like a hungry person who finds no fruit left on the trees and no grapes on the vines. All the grapes and all the tasty figs have been picked. ²There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down his own people. ³They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential person tells them what he wants, and so they scheme together.^{o 4}Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds.

The day has come when God will punish the people, as he warned them through their watchmen, the prophets. Now they are in confusion. ⁵Don’t believe your neighbour or trust your friend. Be careful what you say even to your wife. ^6*In these times sons treat their fathers like fools, daughters oppose their mothers, and young women quarrel with their mothers-in-law; a person’s enemies are the members of his own family.

⁷But I will watch for the Lord; I will wait confidently for God, who will save me. My God will hear me.

The Brings Salvation

⁸Our enemies have no reason to gloat over us. We have fallen, but we will rise again. We are in darkness now, but the Lord will give us light. ⁹We have sinned against the Lord, so now we must endure his anger for a while. But in the end he will defend us and right the wrongs that have been done to us. He will bring us out to the light; we will live to see him save us. ¹⁰Then our enemies will see this and be disgraced—the same enemies who taunted us by asking, “Where is the Lord your God?” We will see them defeated, trampled^p down like mud in the streets.

¹¹People of Jerusalem, the time to rebuild the city walls is coming. At that time your territory will be enlarged. ¹²Your people will return to you from everywhere—from Assyria in the east, from Egypt in the south, from the region of the Euphrates, from distant seas and far-off mountains. ¹³But the earth will become a desert because of the wickedness of those who live on it.

The ’s Compassion on Israel

¹⁴Be a shepherd to your people, Lord, the people you have chosen. Although they live apart in the wilderness, there is fertile land around them. Let them go and feed in the rich pastures of Bashan and Gilead, as they did long ago.

¹⁵Work miracles for us,^q Lord, as you did in the days when you brought us out of Egypt. ¹⁶The nations will see this and be frustrated in spite of all their strength. In dismay they will close their mouths and cover their ears. ¹⁷They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God.

¹⁸There is no other god like you, O Lord; you forgive the sins of your people who have survived. You do not stay angry for ever, but you take pleasure in showing us your constant love. ¹⁹You will be merciful to us once again. You will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea! ²⁰You will show your faithfulness and constant love to your people, the descendants of Abraham and of Jacob, as you promised our ancestors long ago.