Micah 6

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

Now hear that which YHWH is saying: “Rise—strive with the mountains, And cause the hills to 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, O mountains, the strife of YHWH, You strong ones—foundations of earth! For a strife [is] to YHWH, with His people, And with Israel He reasons.

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? And how have I wearied you? Testify against 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 you up from the land of Egypt, And I have ransomed you from the house of servants, And I send Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.

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, please remember What Balak king of Moab counseled, What Balaam son of Beor answered him (From Shittim to Gilgal), In order to know the righteous acts of YHWH.”

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?

With what do I come before YHWH? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves—sons of a year?

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?

Is YHWH pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my firstborn [for] my transgression? 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.

He has declared to you, O man, what [is] good; Indeed, what is YHWH requiring of you, Except—to do judgment, and love kindness, And to walk lowly with 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.

A voice of YHWH calls to the city, And wisdom fears Your Name, “Hear the rod, and Him who appointed it.

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

Are there yet [in] the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness, And the abhorred meager ephah?

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

Do I reckon [it] pure with balances of wickedness? And with a bag of deceitful stones?

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.

Whose rich ones have been full of violence, And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood, And their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth.

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

And I also, I have begun to strike you, To make desolate, because of 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 eat, and you are not satisfied, And your pit [is] in your midst, And you remove, and do not deliver, And that which you deliver, I give to a 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 sow, and you do not reap, You tread the olive, And you do not pour out oil, And new wine—and you do not drink wine.

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.

And the statutes of Omri are kept habitually, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And you walk in their counsels, For My giving you for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And you bear the reproach of My people!”