Micah 6–7

6TH CHAPTER

The Lord’s Lawsuit against His People

¹Now listen to what the Lord is saying, 

“Stand up! Plead your case in front of the mountains, 

and let the hills listen to your request. 

²Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains. 

Listen, you strong foundations of the earth. 

The Lord has filed a lawsuit against his people. 

He is arguing his case against Israel. 

³“My people, what have I done to you? 

How have I tried your patience? Answer me! 

⁴I brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery. 

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. 

⁵My people, remember what King Balak of Moab planned ⸤to do to you⸥ 

and how Balaam, son of Beor, responded to him. 

Remember ⸤your journey⸥ from Shittim to Gilgal 

so that you may know the victories of the Lord.” 

⁶What should I bring when I come into the Lord’s presence, 

when I bow in front of the God of heaven? 

Should I bring him year-old calves as burnt offerings? 

⁷Will 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? 

⁸You 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. 

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

(The fear of your name is wisdom.) 

“Listen, you tribe assembled in the city.^b

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

and use inaccurate weights and measures. 

¹¹I cannot tolerate dishonest scales 

and bags filled with inaccurate weights. 

¹²The rich people in the city are violent. 

Those who live in the city speak lies, 

and their tongues speak deceitfully. 

¹³I have begun to strike you with heavy blows 

and to ruin you because of your sins. 

¹⁴You will eat, but you won’t be full. 

So you will always be hungry. 

You will put things away, but you won’t save them. 

Anything you save I will destroy. 

¹⁵You will plant, but you won’t harvest. 

You will crush olives, but you won’t rub the oil on your skin. 

You will make new wine, but you won’t drink it. 

¹⁶You have kept Omri’s laws 

and all the practices of the descendants of Ahab, 

and you have followed their advice. 

That is why I will ruin you. 

Your people will be ridiculed. 

You will bear the disgrace of my people.” 

7TH CHAPTER

The Lord’s People Confess Their Sin

¹Poor me! 

I am like those gathering summer fruit, 

like those picking grapes. 

But there aren’t any grapes to eat 

or any ripened figs that I crave. 

²Faithful people are gone from the earth, 

and no one is decent. 

All people lie in ambush to commit murder. 

They trap each other with nets. 

³Their hands are skilled in doing evil. 

Officials ask for gifts. 

Judges accept bribes. 

Powerful people dictate what they want. 

So they scheme together. 

⁴The best of them is like a briar. 

The most decent person is sharper than thornbushes. 

The day you thought you would be punished has come. 

Now is the time you will be confused. 

⁵Don’t trust your neighbors. 

Don’t have confidence in ⸤your⸥ friends. 

Keep your mouth shut even when a woman is lying in your arms. 

⁶A son treats his father with contempt. 

A daughter rebels against her mother. 

A daughter-in-law rebels against her mother-in-law. 

People’s enemies are the members of their own families. 

⁷I will look to the Lord. 

I will wait for God to save me. 

I will wait for my God to listen to me. 

⁸Don’t laugh at me, my enemies. 

Although I’ve fallen, I will get up. 

Although I sit in the dark, the Lord is my light. 

⁹I have sinned against the Lord. 

So I will endure his fury 

until he takes up my cause and wins my case. 

He will bring me into the light, 

and I will see his victory. 

¹⁰Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame, 

because they asked me, “Where is the Lord your God?” 

Now I look at them. 

They are trampled like mud in the streets. 

¹¹The day for rebuilding your walls 

and extending your borders is coming. 

¹²When that day comes, your people will come to you 

from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, 

from Egypt to the Euphrates River, 

from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. 

¹³The earth will become a wasteland for those who live on it 

because of what the people living there have done. 

¹⁴With your shepherd’s staff, take care of your people, 

the sheep that belong to you. 

They live alone in the woods, in fertile pastures. 

Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead like before. 

¹⁵Let us see miracles 

like the time you came out of Egypt. 

¹⁶Nations will see this and be ashamed in spite of all their strength. 

They will put their hands over their mouths. 

Their ears will become deaf. 

¹⁷They will lick dust like snakes, 

like animals that crawl on the ground. 

They will come out of their hiding places trembling. 

They will turn away from your presence in fear, O Lord our God. 

They will be afraid of you. 

¹⁸Who is a God like you? 

You forgive sin 

and overlook the rebellion of your faithful people. 

You will not be angry forever, 

because you would rather show mercy. 

¹⁹You will again have compassion on us. 

You will overcome our wrongdoing. 

You will throw all our sins into the deep sea. 

²⁰You will be faithful to Jacob. 

You will have mercy on Abraham 

as you swore by an oath to our ancestors long ago.