Micah 6:4-14

4 "Indeed, I ¹brought you up from the land of Egypt And ²ransomed you from the house of slavery, And I sent before you ³Moses, Aaron and ⁴Miriam.

5 "My people, remember now What ⁵Balak king of Moab counseled And what Balaam son of Beor answered him, And from ⁶Shittim to ⁷Gilgal, So that you might know the ⁸righteous acts of the LORD."

What God Requires of Man

6 ⁹With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with ¹⁰burnt offerings, With yearling calves?

7 Does the LORD take delight in ¹¹thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my ¹²firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has ¹³told you, O man, what is good; And ¹⁴what does the LORD require of you But to ¹⁵do justice, to ¹⁶love kindness, And to walk ¹⁷humbly with your God?

9 The voice of the LORD will call to the city - And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name: "Hear, O tribe. Who has appointed its time?

10 "Is there yet a man in the wicked house, Along with treasures of ¹⁸wickedness And a ¹⁹short measure that is cursed?

11 "Can I justify wicked ²⁰scales And a bag of deceptive weights?

12 "For the rich men of the city are full of ²¹violence, Her residents speak ²²lies, And their ²³tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 "So also I will make you ²⁴sick, striking you down, ²⁵Desolating you because of your sins.

14 "You will eat, but you will ²⁶not be satisfied, And your vileness will be in your midst. You will try to remove for safekeeping, But you will ²⁷not preserve anything, And what you do preserve I will give to the sword.

Micah 6:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 6

This chapter contains reproofs of the people of Israel for their sins, threatening them with punishment for them. The prophet is bid to tell them of the controversy the Lord had with them, which he did, Mic 6:1,2; and the Lord calls upon them to declare if they had any thing to object to his attitude towards them, Mic 6:3; and then puts them in mind of the favours they had received from him, in bringing them out of Egypt, and giving them such useful persons to go before them, lead and instruct them, as he had, Mic 6:4; and also reminds them of what passed between Balak, king of Moab, and Balaam the soothsayer; the questions of the one, and the answer of the other; whereby the designs of the former against them were frustrated, Mic 6:5-8; but since the voice of the Lord by his prophet was disregarded by them, they are called upon to hearken to the voice of his rod, Mic 6:9; which should be laid upon them for their fraudulent dealings, injustice, oppression, lies, and deceit, Mic 6:10-12; and therefore are threatened with sickness and desolation, and a deprivation of all good things, the fruit of their labours, Mic 6:13-15; and that because the statutes of Omri, the works of Ahab, and their counsels, were observed by them, Mic 6:16.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 12:51; Exodus 20:2
• 2. Deuteronomy 7:8
• 3. Exodus 4:10-16; Psalms 77:20
• 4. Exodus 15:20
• 5. Numbers 22:5, 6
• 6. Numbers 25:1; Joshua 2:1; Joshua 3:1
• 7. Joshua 4:19; Joshua 5:9, 10
• 8. 1 Samuel 12:7; Isaiah 1:27
• 9. Psalms 40:6-8
• 10. Psalms 51:16, 17
• 11. Psalms 50:9; Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 40:16
• 12. Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:1-5; 2 Kings 16:3; Jeremiah 7:31
• 13. Deuteronomy 30:15
• 14. Deuteronomy 10:12
• 15. Isaiah 56:1; Jeremiah 22:3
• 16. Hosea 6:6
• 17. Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2
• 18. Jeremiah 5:26, 27; Amos 3:10
• 19. Ezekiel 45:9, 10; Amos 8:5
• 20. Leviticus 19:36; Hosea 12:7
• 21. Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:7; Amos 6:3, 4; Micah 2:1, 2
• 22. Jer 9:2-6, 8; Hosea 7:13; Amos 2:4
• 23. Isaiah 3:8
• 24. Micah 1:9
• 25. Isaiah 1:7; Isaiah 6:11
• 26. Isaiah 9:20
• 27. Isaiah 30:6

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "to know"
• [b]. Or "loyalty"
• [c]. Or "circumspectly"
• [d]. Lit "it"
• [e]. Lit "shrunken ephah"
• [f]. Lit "her"
• [g]. Or possibly "garbage" or "excreta"