God Pleads with Israel

Hear now what the Lord says:

“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
(A)Hear, O you mountains, (B)the Lord’s complaint,
And you strong foundations of the earth;
For (C)the Lord has a complaint against His people,
And He will [a]contend with Israel.

“O My people, what (D)have I done to you?
And how have I (E)wearied you?
Testify against Me.
(F)For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage;
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
O My people, remember now
What (G)Balak king of Moab counseled,
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
From [b]Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
That you may know (H)the righteousness of the Lord.”

With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
(I)Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand (J)rivers of oil?
(K)Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
[c]The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has (L)shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But (M)to do justly,
To love [d]mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Punishment of Israel’s Injustice

The Lord’s voice cries to the city—
Wisdom shall see Your name:

“Hear the rod!
Who has appointed it?
10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness
In the house of the wicked,
And the short measure that is an abomination?
11 Shall I count pure those with (N)the wicked scales,
And with the bag of deceitful weights?
12 For her rich men are full of (O)violence,
Her inhabitants have spoken lies,
And (P)their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 “Therefore I will also (Q)make you sick by striking you,
By making you desolate because of your sins.
14 (R)You shall eat, but not be satisfied;
[e]Hunger shall be in your midst.
You may carry some away,[f] but shall not save them;
And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword.

15 “You shall (S)sow, but not reap;
You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
And make sweet wine, but not drink wine.
16 For the statutes of (T)Omri are (U)kept;
All the works of Ahab’s house are done;
And you walk in their counsels,
That I may make you a [g]desolation,
And your inhabitants a hissing.
Therefore you shall bear the (V)reproach of [h]My people.”

Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (W)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (X)my soul desires.
The (Y)faithful[i] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
(Z)Every man hunts his brother with a net.

That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a (AA)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
The best of them is (AB)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.

(AC)Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your (AD)bosom.
For (AE)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (AF)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

(AG)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(AH)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
(AI)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (AJ)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see,
And (AK)shame will cover her who said to me,
(AL)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.

11 In the day when your (AM)walls are to be built,
In that day [j]the decree shall go far and wide.
12 In that day (AN)they[k] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [l]fortified cities,
From the [m]fortress to [n]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And (AO)for the fruit of their deeds.

God Will Forgive Israel

14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell [o]solitarily in a (AP)woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.

15 “As(AQ) in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show [p]them (AR)wonders.”

16 The nations (AS)shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
(AT)They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the (AU)dust like a serpent;
(AV)They shall crawl from their holes like [q]snakes of the earth.
(AW)They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.
18 (AX)Who is a God like You,
(AY)Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of (AZ)the remnant of His heritage?

(BA)He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in (BB)mercy.[r]
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all [s]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 (BC)You will give truth to Jacob
And [t]mercy to Abraham,
(BD)Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.

Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:2 bring charges against
  2. Micah 6:5 Heb. Shittim, Num. 25:1; Josh. 2:1; 3:1
  3. Micah 6:7 My own child
  4. Micah 6:8 Or lovingkindness
  5. Micah 6:14 Or Emptiness or Humiliation
  6. Micah 6:14 Tg., Vg. You shall take hold
  7. Micah 6:16 Or object of horror
  8. Micah 6:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX nations
  9. Micah 7:2 Or loyal
  10. Micah 7:11 Or the boundary shall be extended
  11. Micah 7:12 Lit. he, collective of the captives
  12. Micah 7:12 Heb. arey mazor, possibly cities of Egypt
  13. Micah 7:12 Heb. mazor, possibly Egypt
  14. Micah 7:12 The Euphrates
  15. Micah 7:14 Alone
  16. Micah 7:15 Lit. him, collective for the captives
  17. Micah 7:17 Lit. crawlers
  18. Micah 7:18 Or lovingkindness
  19. Micah 7:19 Lit. their
  20. Micah 7:20 Or lovingkindness

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