Micah 6

1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

Give ear now to the words of the Lord: Up! put forward your cause before the mountains, let your voice be sounding among the hills.

2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.

Give ear, O you mountains, to the Lord's cause, and take note, you bases of the earth: for the Lord has a cause against his people, and he will take it up with Israel.

3 O my people, what have I done to thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me,

O my people, what have I done to you? how have I been a weariness to you? give answer against me.

4 For I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee from the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

For I took you up out of the land of Egypt and made you free from the prison-house; I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

O my people, keep in mind now what was designed by Balak, king of Moab, and the answer which Balaam, son of Beor, gave him; the events, from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may be certain of the upright acts of the Lord.

6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, [and] bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old?

With what am I to come before the Lord and go with bent head before the high God? am I to come before him with burned offerings, with young oxen a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, [or] with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born [for] my transgression, the fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of sheep or with ten thousand rivers of oil? am I to give my first child for my wrongdoing, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He hath shown thee, O man, what [is] good; and what the LORD doth require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

He has made clear to you, O man, what is good; and what is desired from you by the Lord; only doing what is right, and loving mercy, and walking without pride before your God.

9 The LORD'S voice crieth to the city, and [the man of] wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

The voice of the Lord is crying out to the town: Give ear, you tribes and the meeting of the town.

10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure [that is] abominable?

Am I to let the stores of the evil-doer go out of my memory, and the short measure, which is cursed?

11 Shall I count [them] pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?

Is it possible for me to let wrong scales and the bag of false weights go without punishment?

12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth.

For its men of wealth are cruel, and its people have said what is not true, and their tongue is false in their mouth.

13 Therefore also will I make [thee] sick in smiting thee, in making [thee] desolate because of thy sins.

So I have made a start with your punishment; I have made you waste because of your sins.

14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down [shall be] in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and [that] which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

You will have food, but not enough; your shame will be ever with you: you will get your goods moved, but you will not take them away safely; and what you do take away I will give to the sword.

15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

You will put in seed, but you will not get in the grain; you will be crushing olives, but your bodies will not be rubbed with the oil; and you will get in the grapes, but you will have no wine.

16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

For you have kept the laws of Omri and all the works of the family of Ahab, and you have been guided by their designs: so that I might make you a cause of wonder and your people a cause of hisses; and the shame of my people will be on you.