Micah 6
1 Hear, I pray you, what, Yahweh, is saying, —arise thou, maintain thy controversy before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice: —
Pay attention to what Yahweh says [to you Israeli people]: “Stand up [in court] and state what you are accusing [me] about. And allow the hills and mountains to hear what you will say.
2 Hear, ye mountains, the controversy of Yahweh, and ye lasting rocks, the foundations of the earth, —for, a controversy, hath Yahweh, with his people, and, with Israel, will he dispute.
[But then] you mountains must [also] listen [carefully] [DOU] to what I, Yahweh, am complaining [about my people]. I have something to say about what [DOU] my Israeli people are doing that displeases me.
3 O my people! what have I done to thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? Testify thou against me!
My people, what have I done to [cause trouble for] you [RHQ]? What have I done to cause you to experience difficulties? Answer me!
4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and, out of the house of slaves, I ransomed thee, —and I sent before thee, Moses, Aaron and Miriam.
I [did great things for your ancestors]; I brought them out of Egypt; I rescued them from that land where they were slaves. I sent Moses to [lead] them, and [his older brother] Aaron and [his older sister] Miriam.
5 O my people! remember, I pray you, what Balak king of Moab, counseled, and what Balaam son of Beor, answered him, —from the Acacias as far as Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of Yahweh.
My people, think about when Balak, the king of Moab, requested Beor’s son Balaam [to curse your ancestors], and think about what Balaam replied. Think about [how your ancestors crossed the Jordan River miraculously while] they were traveling from Acacia to Gilgal. [Think about those things in order] that you may know that [I], Yahweh, do what is right.”
6 Wherewith, shall I come before Yahweh? bow myself to God on high? Shall I come before him with ascending-sacrifice? with calves of a year old?
[The Israeli people ask, ] “What shall we bring to Yahweh [who lives in] heaven when we come to him and bow down before him? Should we bring calves that are a year-old that will be offerings that will be [killed and] completely burned [on the altar]?
7 Will Yahweh, be pleased, with thousands of rams? with myriads of torrents of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Will Yahweh be pleased [if we offer to him] 1,000 rams and 10,000 streams of [olive] oil? Should we offer our firstborn children [to be sacrifices] to pay for the sins that we have committed [DOU]?”
8 He hath told thee, O son of earth, what is good, —what then is, Yahweh, seeking of thee, but, to do justice, to delight in lovingkindness, and humbly to walk with thy God?
[No, because] he has shown each of us what is good [to do]; he has shown [RHQ] us what he requires each of us [to do]: He wants us to do what is just/fair and to love and to be merciful [to others], and [he wants us] to live humbly [while we fellowship] with him, our God.
9 The voice of Yahweh, to the city, crieth out, With safety for him who regardeth his name, —Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
“I am Yahweh, so if you are wise, you should revere me. I am calling out to [you people of] Jerusalem, ‘The armies [MET] that will destroy your city are coming, so pay careful attention to me, the one who is causing them to punish you with my rod.
10 Even yet, are there, in the house of the lawless one, the treasures of lawlessness, —and the scant measure—accurst?
Do you think that [RHQ] I should forget that you wicked people filled your homes with valuable things that you acquired by cheating [others]? Do you think that [RHQ] I should forget that you used false measures [when you bought and sold things]? Those are things that I hate.
11 Shall I be pure with lawless balances? or with bag of deceitful weights?
[Do you think] that [RHQ] I should say nothing about people who use scales that do not weigh correctly, and who use weights that are not accurate?
12 For, her rich men, are full of violence, and, her inhabitants, have spoken falsehood, —and, their tongue, is deceitful in their mouth.
The rich people among you always act violently [to get money from poor people]. All of the people [in Jerusalem] are liars, and they [SYN] always deceive people.
13 Moreover also, I, have made thee sick with smiting thee, —laying thee waste because of thy sins.
Therefore, I have [already] begun to get rid of you, to ruin you because of the sins that you have committed.
14 Thou, shalt eat—and not be satisfied, but be shrunk with hunger within thee, —Though thou remove, yet shalt thou not set in safety, and, what thou dost set in safety, to the sword, will I deliver.
[Soon] you will eat food, but you will not have enough to satisfy you; your stomachs will [still feel as though they are] empty. You will try to save up [money], but you will not be able to save anything, because I will send your enemies to take it from you in wars [MTY].
15 Thou, shalt sow, but shalt not reap, —thou, shalt tread the olive, but shalt not anoint thee with oil, also the grape, but shalt not drink the wine.
You will plant [seeds], but you will not harvest [anything]. You will press olives, but [others], not you, will use the [olive] oil. You will trample on grapes [and make wine from the juice], but [others], not you, will drink the wine.
16 For strictly observed are the statutes of Omri, and every doing of the house of Ahab, and ye have walked in their counsels, —to the end I may give thee up to desolation, and her inhabitants to hissing, that, the reproach of peoples, ye may bear.
[Those things will happen to you because] you obey [only] the wicked laws of [King] Omri, and [you do the terrible things that wicked King] Ahab and his descendants commanded. So, I will destroy your [country], and I will cause your people to be despised; people [of other nations] will insult you.’”
