Micah 6–7

CHAPTER 6

Yahweh’s Case Against His People

^11aListen now to what Yahweh is saying,

“Arise, plead your case ²before the mountains,

And let the hills ^3blisten to your voice.

²“^1aListen, you mountains, to the case of Yahweh,

And you enduring ^bfoundations of the earth,

Because ^cYahweh has a case against His people;

Even with Israel He will reprove.

³“^aMy people, ^bwhat have I done to you,

And ^chow have I wearied you? Answer Me.

⁴“Indeed, I ^abrought you up from the land of Egypt

And ^bransomed you from the house of slavery,

And I sent before you ^cMoses, Aaron, and ^dMiriam.

⁵“My people, remember now

What ^aBalak king of Moab counseled

And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,

And from ^bShittim to ^cGilgal,

So ¹that you might know the ^drighteous acts of Yahweh.”

What Yahweh Requires

^6aWith what shall I come before Yahweh

And bow myself before the God on high?

Shall I come before Him with ^bburnt offerings,

With yearling calves?

⁷Is Yahweh pleased with ^athousands of rams,

With ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my ^bfirstborn for my transgression,

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

⁸He has ^atold you, O man, what is good;

And ^bwhat does Yahweh require of you

But to ^cdo justice, to ^dlove lovingkindness,

And to walk ^1ehumbly with your God?

⁹The voice of Yahweh will call to the city—

And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:

“Hear, O tribe. Who even has appointed ¹its time?

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

Along with treasures of ^awickedness,

And a ^1bshort measure which is cursed?

¹¹“Can I purify wicked ^ascales

And a bag of deceptive weights?

¹²“For the rich men of ¹the city are full of ^aviolence,

And her inhabitants speak ^blies,

And their ^ctongue is deceitful in their mouth.

¹³“So also I will make you ^asick, striking you down,

^bDesolating you because of your sins.

¹⁴“You will eat, but you will ^anot be satisfied,

And your ¹vileness will be in your midst.

And you will try to remove something for safekeeping,

But you will ^bnot cause anything to escape,

And that which you do have escape, I will give to the sword.

¹⁵“You will sow but you will ^anot reap.

You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil;

And the grapes, but you will ^bnot drink wine.

¹⁶“The statutes of ^aOmri

And all the works of the house of ^bAhab are kept;

And in their counsels you ^cwalk.

Therefore I will give you up as ^dan object of horror

And ¹your inhabitants as an ^eobject of hissing,

And you will bear the ^freproach of My people.”

CHAPTER 7

There Is No Upright Person

¹Woe is me! For I am

Like the fruit pickers, like the ^agrape gatherers.

There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,

Or a ^bfirst-ripe fig which my soul desires.

²The ¹holy one has ^aperished from the land,

And there is no upright person among men.

All of them lie in wait for ^bbloodshed;

Each of them hunts the other with a ^cnet.

³Concerning evil, both hands do it ^awell.

The prince asks, also the judge, for a ^bpayment,

And a great man speaks the craving of his soul;

So they weave it together.

⁴The best of them is like a ^abriar,

The most upright like a ^bthorn hedge.

The day when you post your watchmen,

Your ^cpunishment will come.

¹At that time their ^dpanic will happen.

⁵Do not ^abelieve in a neighbor;

Do not have confidence in a close companion.

From her who lies in your bosom

Guard the openings of your mouth.

⁶For ^ason treats father as a wicked fool;

Daughter rises up against her mother,

Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

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

Yahweh Is a Light for Me

⁷But as for me, I will ^awatch expectantly for Yahweh;

I will ^bwait for the God of my salvation.

My ^cGod will hear me.

^8aDo not be glad over me, O ^bmy enemy.

Though I fall I will ^crise;

Though I inhabit the darkness, Yahweh is a ^dlight for me.

⁹I will bear the rage of Yahweh

Because I have sinned against Him,

Until He ^apleads my case and does justice for me.

He will bring me out to the ^blight,

And I will see His ^1crighteousness.

¹⁰Then my enemy will see,

And shame will cover her who ^asaid to me,

“Where is Yahweh your God?”

My eyes will look on her;

¹At that time she will ²be ^btrampled down

Like mire of the streets.

¹¹It will be a day for ^abuilding your walls.

On that day your boundary will be extended.

¹²It will be a day when ¹they will ^acome to you

From Assyria and the cities of Egypt,

From Egypt even to the ²River,

Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

¹³And the earth will become ^adesolate because of her inhabitants,

On account of the ^bfruit of their deeds.

^14aShepherd Your people with Your ^bscepter,

The flock of Your inheritance

Which dwells by itself in the forest,

In the midst of ¹a fruitful orchard.

Let them feed in ^cBashan and Gilead

^dAs in the ancient days.

¹⁵“As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,

I will show ^1ayou wondrous deeds.”

¹⁶Nations ^awill see and be ashamed

Of all their might.

They will ^bput their hand on their mouth;

Their ears will be deaf.

¹⁷They will ^alick the dust like a serpent,

Like ^bcrawling things of the earth.

They will come ^ctrembling out of their ¹fortresses;

To Yahweh our God they will come in ^ddread,

And they will be afraid before You.

¹⁸Who is a God like You, who ^aforgives iniquity

And passes over the transgression of the ^bremnant of His inheritance?

He does not ^chold fast to His anger forever

Because He ^ddelights in lovingkindness.

¹⁹He will again have compassion on us;

^aHe will subdue our iniquities.

And You will ^bcast all ¹their sins

Into the depths of the sea.

²⁰You will give ^1atruth to Jacob

And lovingkindness to Abraham,

Which You ^bswore to our fathers

From the days of old.