Micah 6:6-16

What God Requires of Man

6 ¹With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with ²burnt offerings, With yearling calves?

7 Does the LORD take delight in ³thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my ⁴firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has ⁵told you, O man, what is good; And ⁶what does the LORD require of you But to ⁷do justice, to ⁸love kindness, And to walk ⁹humbly 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 ¹⁰wickedness And a ¹¹short measure that is cursed?

11 "Can I justify wicked ¹²scales And a bag of deceptive weights?

12 "For the rich men of the city are full of ¹³violence, Her residents speak ¹⁴lies, And their ¹⁵tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13 "So also I will make you ¹⁶sick, striking you down, ¹⁷Desolating you because of your sins.

14 "You will eat, but you will ¹⁸not be satisfied, And your vileness will be in your midst. You will try to remove for safekeeping, But you will ¹⁹not preserve anything, And what you do preserve I will give to the sword.

15 "You will sow but you will ²⁰not reap. You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil; And the grapes, but you will ²¹not drink wine.

16 "The statutes of ²²Omri And all the works of the house of ²³Ahab are observed; And in their devices you ²⁴walk. Therefore I will give you up for ²⁵destruction And your inhabitants for ²⁶derision, And you will bear the ²⁷reproach of My people."

Micah 6:6-16 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. Psalms 40:6-8
• 2. Psalms 51:16, 17
• 3. Psalms 50:9; Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 40:16
• 4. Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:1-5; 2 Kings 16:3; Jeremiah 7:31
• 5. Deuteronomy 30:15
• 6. Deuteronomy 10:12
• 7. Isaiah 56:1; Jeremiah 22:3
• 8. Hosea 6:6
• 9. Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2
• 10. Jeremiah 5:26, 27; Amos 3:10
• 11. Ezekiel 45:9, 10; Amos 8:5
• 12. Leviticus 19:36; Hosea 12:7
• 13. Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:7; Amos 6:3, 4; Micah 2:1, 2
• 14. Jer 9:2-6, 8; Hosea 7:13; Amos 2:4
• 15. Isaiah 3:8
• 16. Micah 1:9
• 17. Isaiah 1:7; Isaiah 6:11
• 18. Isaiah 9:20
• 19. Isaiah 30:6
• 20. Deuteronomy 28:38-40; Jeremiah 12:13
• 21. Amos 5:11; Zephaniah 1:13
• 22. 1 Kings 16:25, 26
• 23. 1 Kings 16:29-33
• 24. Jeremiah 7:24
• 25. Jeremiah 18:16; Micah 6:13
• 26. Jeremiah 19:8; Jeremiah 25:9, 18; Jeremiah 29:18
• 27. Psalms 44:13; Jeremiah 51:51; Hosea 12:14

Footnotes

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