Micah 6

1 Listen to what the Lord is saying. Stand up and plead your case. Let the mountains and the hills hear your voice.

Hear ye what Jehovah saith! Arise, contend thou before the mountains, And let the hills hear thy voice!

2 And now, mountains, hear the Lord's argument. Listen, everlasting foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a case against his people. He will bring charges against Israel.

Hear, O ye mountains, the controversy of Jehovah! Hear, ye strong foundations of the earth! For Jehovah hath a controversy with his people; He contendeth with Israel.

3 My people, what have I done to you? What is it that I have done to make you tired of me?

“O my people, what have I done to thee, And wherein have I offended thee? Testify against me!

4 For I brought you out of the land of Egypt and rescued you from slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.

I brought thee up from the land of Egypt, And from the house of bondage I redeemed thee; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, to go before thee.

5 My people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, planned to do, and what Balaam, son of Beor, told him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so you could know all the good things the Lord does.

O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised. And what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him, What happened from Shittim to Gilgal, That ye may know the mercies of Jehovah.”

6 What should I take with me when I approach the Lord, when I bow down before the God of heaven? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, And bow myself before the most high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, With calves of a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I sacrifice my firstborn child for my rebellion, my own flesh and blood for the sins I have committed?

Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for the sin of my soul, The fruit of my body for my transgression?

8 The Lord has told you what is good, and what the Lord asks from you: to do what is right, to love kindness, and to walk in humility with your God.

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; What doth Jehovah require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, And to walk humbly before thy God?

9 The voice of the Lord calls to the city—to respect your name is to be wise—pay attention to the rod and who summoned it.

The voice of Jehovah crieth to the city, And the man of wisdom will discern thee; Hear ye the rod, and who hath threatened it!

10 Are there still ill-gotten gains in the houses of the wicked? Are they still using dishonest measures in selling grain?

Are there not yet in the houses of the unrighteous the treasures of iniquity, And the scanty measure, which is abominable?

11 How can I accept those who use unfair scales and dishonest weights?

Shall I count her pure with the wicked balances, And with the bag of deceitful weights?

12 Your rich people make money by using violence; they tell lies and practice deceit.

For her rich men are full of violence, And her inhabitants speak lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 So I will strike you to make you ill; I will ruin you because of your sins.

Therefore will I sorely smite thee, And make thee desolate on account of thy sins.

14 You will eat, but never be satisfied; inside you will still feel hungry. Even though you try to save money, what you save won't be worth anything because I will give it to the sword.

Thou shalt eat and not be satisfied, And hunger shall be within thee. Thou shalt remove, but shalt not save, And what thou savest will I give up to the sword.

15 You will sow, but you won't reap; you will press your olives, but not use the oil; you will make your wine, but drink none of it.

Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; Thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil, And the grapes, but shalt not drink the wine.

16 You have kept the laws of Omri, and adopted all the practices of the house of Ahab, you have followed their ways. So I will make your country desolate and the people who live there an object of scorn; you will bear the shame of my people.

For ye keep the statutes of Omri, And all the works of the house of Ahab, And walk in their devices; Therefore will I make thee a desolation, And thine inhabitants a derision; And ye shall bear the reproach of my people.