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Micah 6-7
Easy-to-Read Version
Micah 6-7
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord’s Complaint
6 Now hear what the Lord says:
“Present your argument to the mountains.
Let the hills hear your story.[a]
2 The Lord has a complaint against his people.
Mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint.
Foundations of the earth, hear the Lord.
He will prove that Israel is wrong!”
3 He says, “My people, tell me what I did!
Did I do something wrong against you?
Did I make life too hard for you?
4 I will tell you what I did.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to you.
I brought you from the land of Egypt.
I freed you from slavery.
5 My people, remember the evil plans of Balak king of Moab.
Remember what Balaam son of Beor said to Balak.
Remember what happened from Acacia to Gilgal,[b]
and you will know the Lord is right!”
What Does God Want From Us?
6 What must I bring when I come to meet with the Lord?
What must I do when I bow down to God above?
Should I come to him with burnt offerings
and a year-old calf?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand rams
or with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Should I offer him my first child to pay for my wrongs?
Should I sacrifice my very own child for my sins?
8 Human, the Lord has told you what goodness is.
This is what he wants from you:
Be fair to other people.
Love kindness and loyalty,
and humbly obey your God.
What Were the Israelites Doing?
9 The Lord shouts to the city:
“A wise person respects the Lord’s name.[c]
So pay attention to the punishing rod and to the one who uses it![d]
10 Do the wicked still hide treasures
that they have stolen?
Do they still cheat people
with baskets that are too small?[e]
Yes, all of this is still happening!
11 Some people carry special weights
that they use to cheat people when they weigh their goods.
Should I pardon them?
12 The rich in that city are still cruel.
The people there still tell lies.
Yes, they tell their lies.
13 So I have begun to punish you.
I will destroy you because of your sins.
14 You will eat, but you will not become full.
You will still be hungry and empty.[f]
You will try to bring people to safety,
but people with swords will kill the people you rescued.
15 You will plant your seeds,
but you will not gather food.
You will try to squeeze oil from your olives,
but you will not get any oil.
You will crush your grapes,
but you will not get enough juice to have wine to drink.
16 This is because you obey the laws of Omri.[g]
You do all the evil things that Ahab’s family does.
You follow their teachings,
so I will let you be destroyed.
People will whistle in amazement
when they see your destroyed city.
Then you will bear the shame
that the other nations bring to you.”[h]
Micah Is Upset at the Evil People Do
7 I am upset because I am like fruit that has been gathered,
like grapes that have already been picked.
There are no grapes left to eat.
There are none of the early figs that I love.
2 By this I mean that all the faithful people are gone.
There are no good people left.
Everyone is planning to kill someone.
Everyone is trying to trap their brother.
3 People are good at doing bad things with both hands.
Officials ask for bribes.
Judges take money to change their decisions in court.
“Important leaders” do whatever they want to do.
4 Even the best of them is as crooked
as a tangled thornbush.
The Day of Punishment Is Coming
Your prophets said this day would come,
and the day of your watchmen[i] has come.
Now you will be punished.
Now you will be confused!
5 Don’t trust your neighbor
or trust a friend!
Don’t even speak freely
with your wife.
6 Your enemies will be the people in your own house.
A son will not honor his father.
A daughter will turn against her mother.
A daughter-in-law will turn against her mother-in-law.
The Lord Is the Savior
7 So I will look to the Lord for help.
I will wait for God to save me.
My God will hear me.
8 I have fallen, but enemy, don’t laugh at me!
I will get up again.
I sit in darkness now,
but the Lord will be a light for me.
The Lord Forgives
9 I sinned against the Lord,
so he was angry with me.
But he will argue my case for me in court.
He will do what is right for me.
Then he will bring me out into the light,
and I will see that he is right.
10 My enemy said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
But my enemy will see this,
and she will be ashamed.
At that time I will laugh at her.[j]
People will walk over her,[k] like mud in the streets.
The Jews to Return
11 The time will come when your walls will be rebuilt.
At that time the country will grow.
12 Your people will come back to your land.
They will come back from Assyria and from the cities of Egypt.
They will come from Egypt
and from the other side of the Euphrates River.
They will come from the sea in the west
and from the mountains in the east.
13 The land was ruined by the people
who lived there and by what they did.
14 So rule your people with your rod.
Rule the flock of people who belong to you.
That flock lives alone in the woods
and up on Mount Carmel.
That flock lives in Bashan and Gilead
as they did in the past.
Israel Will Defeat Its Enemies
15 I did many miracles when I took you out of Egypt.
I will let you see more miracles like that.
16 The nations will see those miracles,
and they will be ashamed.
They will see that their “power”
is nothing compared to mine.
They will be amazed
and put their hands over their mouths.
They will cover their ears
and refuse to listen.
17 They will crawl in the dust like a snake.
They will shake with fear.
They will be like insects crawling
from their holes in the ground
and coming to the Lord our God.
God, they will fear and respect you!
Praise for the Lord
18 There is no God like you.
You take away people’s guilt.
God will forgive his people who survive.
He will not stay angry with them forever,
because he enjoys being kind.
19 He will come back and comfort us again.
He will throw all our sins into the deep sea.
20 God, please be true to Jacob.
Be kind and loyal to Abraham,[l] as you promised our ancestors long ago.
Footnotes
- Micah 6:1 This is like a court case. The mountains and hills are the judge and jury.
- Micah 6:5 Acacia to Gilgal This story is found in Num. 22-25.
- Micah 6:9 the Lord’s name Literally, “your name.”
- Micah 6:9 So pay attention … uses it The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
- Micah 6:10 baskets … too small Literally, “short ephahs.” An ephah is about 1/2 bushel.
- Micah 6:14 You … empty The Hebrew text here is unclear.
- Micah 6:16 Omri A king of Israel who led his nation to worship false gods. See 1 Kings 16:21-26.
- Micah 6:16 Then … you Or “My people’s shame will be taken away.”
- Micah 7:4 watchmen Another name for prophets. This shows that the prophets were like guards who stood on a city’s wall and watched for trouble coming from far away.
- Micah 7:10 laugh at her Literally, “my eyes will stare at her.”
- Micah 7:10 enemy, laugh at her, walk over her This probably refers to an enemy city, such as the capital of Edom.
- Micah 7:20 Abraham Here, Abraham is used to mean all the people of Israel. See “Abraham” in the Word List.
Micah 6-7
New International Version
Micah 6-7
New International Version
The Lord’s Case Against Israel
6 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;(A)
let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “Hear,(B) you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;(C)
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case(D) against his people;
he is lodging a charge(E) against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened(F) you?(G) Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt(H)
and redeemed you from the land of slavery.(I)
I sent Moses(J) to lead you,
also Aaron(K) and Miriam.(L)
5 My people, remember
what Balak(M) king of Moab plotted
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim(N) to Gilgal,(O)
that you may know the righteous acts(P) of the Lord.”
6 With what shall I come before(Q) the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?(R)
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,(S)
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?(T)
Shall I offer my firstborn(U) for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(V)
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly(W) and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a](X) with your God.(Y)
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
and to fear your name is wisdom—
“Heed the rod(Z) and the One who appointed it.[b]
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
and the short ephah,[c] which is accursed?(AA)
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,(AB)
with a bag of false weights?(AC)
12 Your rich people are violent;(AD)
your inhabitants are liars(AE)
and their tongues speak deceitfully.(AF)
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy(AG) you,
to ruin[d] you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;(AH)
your stomach will still be empty.[e]
You will store up but save nothing,(AI)
because what you save[f] I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;(AJ)
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.(AK)
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri(AL)
and all the practices of Ahab’s(AM) house;
you have followed their traditions.(AN)
Therefore I will give you over to ruin(AO)
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn(AP) of the nations.[g]”
Israel’s Misery
7 What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs(AQ) that I crave.
2 The faithful have been swept from the land;(AR)
not one(AS) upright person remains.
Everyone lies in wait(AT) to shed blood;(AU)
they hunt each other(AV) with nets.(AW)
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;(AX)
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,(AY)
the powerful dictate what they desire—
they all conspire together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,(AZ)
the most upright worse than a thorn(BA) hedge.
The day God visits you has come,
the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
Now is the time of your confusion.(BB)
5 Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend.(BC)
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
guard the words of your lips.
6 For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,(BD)
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.(BE)
7 But as for me, I watch(BF) in hope(BG) for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear(BH) me.
Israel Will Rise
8 Do not gloat over me,(BI) my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.(BJ)
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.(BK)
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s wrath,(BL)
until he pleads my case(BM)
and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;(BN)
I will see his righteousness.(BO)
10 Then my enemy will see it
and will be covered with shame,(BP)
she who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”(BQ)
My eyes will see her downfall;(BR)
even now she will be trampled(BS) underfoot
like mire in the streets.
11 The day for building your walls(BT) will come,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12 In that day people will come to you
from Assyria(BU) and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
and from sea to sea
and from mountain to mountain.(BV)
13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
as the result of their deeds.(BW)
Prayer and Praise
14 Shepherd(BX) your people with your staff,(BY)
the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
in fertile pasturelands.[h](BZ)
Let them feed in Bashan(CA) and Gilead(CB)
as in days long ago.(CC)
15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my wonders.(CD)”
16 Nations will see and be ashamed,(CE)
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths(CF)
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust(CG) like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling(CH) out of their dens;
they will turn in fear(CI) to the Lord our God
and will be afraid of you.
18 Who is a God(CJ) like you,
who pardons sin(CK) and forgives(CL) the transgression
of the remnant(CM) of his inheritance?(CN)
You do not stay angry(CO) forever
but delight to show mercy.(CP)
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities(CQ) into the depths of the sea.(CR)
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,(CS)
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors(CT)
in days long ago.(CU)
Footnotes
- Micah 6:8 Or prudently
- Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
- Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.
- Micah 6:13 Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin
- Micah 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Micah 6:14 Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth
- Micah 6:16 Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people
- Micah 7:14 Or in the middle of Carmel
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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