Micah 6

1 Hear, I pray you, that which Jehovah is saying: 'Rise — strive thou with the mountains, And cause thou the hills to 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, O mountains, the strife of Jehovah, Ye strong ones — foundations of earth! For a strife [is] to Jehovah, with His people, And with Israel He doth reason.

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 what — 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 up from the land of Egypt, And from the house of servants I have ransomed thee, And I send 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, I pray you, What counsel did Balak king of Moab, What answer him did Balaam son of Beor, (From Shittim unto Gilgal, ) In order to know the righteous acts of Jehovah.'

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

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 Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do 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 declared to thee, O man, what [is] good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except — to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk 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 A voice of Jehovah to the city calleth, And wisdom doth fear Thy name, Hear ye the rod, and Him who 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 [in] the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness, And the abhorred scanty ephah?

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

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

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

12 Whose rich ones have been full of violence, And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood, 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 And I also, I have begun to smite thee, To make 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 — thou eatest, and thou art not satisfied, And thy pit [is] in thy midst, And thou removest, and dost not deliver, And that which thou deliverest, to a sword I give.

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 — thou sowest, and thou dost not reap, Thou — thou treadest the olive, And thou pourest not out oil, And new wine — and thou drinkest not 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 And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And ye do walk in their counsels, For My giving thee for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And the reproach of My people ye do bear!

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.