Micah 6

1 Hearken ye nowe what the Lord sayth, Arise thou, and contende before the mountaines, and let the hilles heare thy voyce.

Hear now a word: the Lord God has said; Arise, plead with the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.

2 Heare ye, O mountaynes, the Lordes quarel, and ye mightie foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a quarell against his people, and he will pleade with Israel.

Hear you, O mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and [you] valleys [even] the foundations of the earth: for the Lord [has] a controversy with his people, and will plead with Israel.

3 O my people, what haue I done vnto thee? or wherin haue I grieued thee? testifie against me.

O my people, what have I done to you? or wherein have I grieved you? or wherein have I troubled you? answer me.

4 Surely I brought thee vp out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of seruants, and I haue sent before thee, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

For I brought tee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, and sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Mariam.

5 O my people, remember nowe what Balak King of Moab had deuised, and what Balaam the sonne of Beor answered him, from Shittim vnto Gilgal, that ye may knowe the righteousnes of the Lord.

O my people, remember now, what counsel Balac king of Moab took against you, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from the reeds to Galgal; that the righteousness of the Lord might be known.

6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bowe my selfe before the hie God? Shall I come before him with burnt offrings, and with calues of a yeere olde?

Wherewithal shall I reach the Lord, [and] lay hold of my God most high? shall I reach him by whole burnt offerings, by calves of a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand riuers of oyle? shall I giue my first borne for my transgression, euen the fruite of my bodie, for the sinne of my soule?

Will the Lord accept thousands of rams, or ten thousands of fat goats? should I give my firstborn for ungodliness, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee: surely to doe iustly, and to loue mercie, and to humble thy selfe, to walke with thy God.

Has it [not] been told you, O man, what [is] good? or what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and love mercy, and be ready to walk with the Lord your God?

9 The Lordes voyce cryeth vnto the citie, and the man of wisedome shall see thy name: Heare the rodde, and who hath appoynted it.

The Lord's voice shall be proclaimed in the city, and he shall save those that fear his name: hear, O tribe; and who shall order the city?

10 Are yet the treasures of wickednes in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure, that is abominable?

[Is there] not fire, and the house of the wicked heaping up wicked treasures, and [that] with the pride of unrighteousness?

11 Shall I iustifie the wicked balances, and the bag of deceitfull weightes?

Shall the wicked be justified by the balanced, or deceitful weights in the bag,

12 For the rich men thereof are full of crueltie, and the inhabitants thereof haue spoken lyes, and their tongue is deceitfull in their mouth.

whereby they have accumulated their ungodly wealth, and they that dwell in the city have uttered falsehoods, and their tongue has been exalted in their mouth?

13 Therefore also will I make thee sicke in smiting thee, and in making thee desolate, because of thy sinnes.

Therefore will I begin to strike you; I will destroy you in your sins.

14 Thou shalt eate and not be satisfied, and thy casting downe shall be in the mids of thee, and thou shalt take holde, but shalt not deliuer: and that which thou deliuerest, will I giue vp to the sworde.

You shall eat, and shall not be satisfied; and there shall be darkness upon you; and he shall depart from [you], and you shall not escape; and all that shall escape shall be delivered over to the sword.

15 Thou shalt sowe, but not reape: thou shalt treade the oliues, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oyle, and make sweete wine, but shalt not drinke wine.

You shall sow, but you shall not reap; you shall press the olive, but you shall not anoint yourself with oil; and [shall make] wine, but you shall drink no wine: and the ordinances of my people shall be utterly abolished.

16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the maner of the house of Ahab, and ye walke in their counsels, that I should make thee waste, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall beare the reproche of my people.

For you have kept the statues of Zambri, and [done] all the works of the house of Achaab; and you have walked in their ways, that I might deliver you to utter destruction, and those that inhabit the city to hissing: and you shall bear the reproach of nations.