Micah 6:3-13

3 My people, what have I done to thee, either (in) what was I grievous to thee? Answer thou to me. (My people, what have I done to thee, or how have I grieved thee? Answer thou me.)
4 For I led thee out of the land of Egypt, and of the house of servage I delivered thee; and I sent before thy face Moses, and Aaron, and Mary. (For I led thee out of the land of Egypt, and I brought thee out of the house of servitude, or of slavery; and I sent thee Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam.)
5 My people, bethink, I pray, what Balak, king of Moab, thought, and what Balaam, son of Beor, of Shittim, answered to him till to Gilgal, that thou shouldest know the rightwiseness of the Lord. (My people, remember, I pray thee, what Balak, the king of Moab, thought, or planned, to do against you, and what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered to him; remember the journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that thou shalt know the Lord's righteousness.)
6 What worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord? shall I bow the knee to the high God? Whether shall I offer to him brunt sacrifices, and calves of one year? (What worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord? shall I bow my knee to the Most High God? Shall I offer him burnt sacrifices, and one year old calves?)
7 Whether God may be satisfied in thousands of wethers, either in many thousands of fat goat bucks? Whether I shall give my first begotten for my great trespass, the fruit of my womb for sin of my soul? (Can God truly be satisfied even with thousands of rams, or with many thousands of fat goat bucks? Shall I give my first begotten son for my great trespass, yea, the fruit of my womb for the sin of my soul?)
8 I shall show to thee, thou man, what is good, and what the Lord asketh of thee; forsooth for to do doom, and for to love mercy, and be busy for to walk with thy God. (I shall tell thee, ye people, what is good, and what the Lord asketh of thee; and that is, to act rightly, or with justice, and to love mercy/and to love mercifully, and to be busy, or committed, to walk with thy God.)
9 The voice of the Lord crieth to the city, and health shall be to all men dreading thy name. Ye lineages, hear; and who shall approve it? (The voice of the Lord crieth to the city, and success, or victory, shall be for all those who fear his name/for all those who revere his name. Listen, ye tribes, to him who hath gathered thee together/Listen, ye tribes, all ye who gather together in the city.)
10 Yet fire is in the house of unpious men, the treasures of wickedness, and a less measure, (which make me) full of wrath. (Yet in the house of the unrighteous, or of the wicked, there is fire, yea, the treasures of wickedness, and a false measure, which make me very angry.)
11 Whether I shall justify the wicked balance, and the guileful weights of a little sack, (Can I justify a wicked, or a false, balance, and a bag of deceitful weights,)
12 in which rich men thereof be filled with wickedness? And men dwelling therein spake leasing, and the tongue of them was guileful in the mouth of them. (in which the rich there be filled with wickedness? And those living there spoke lies, and their tongues were deceitful in their mouths.)
13 And I therefore began for to smite thee, in(to) perdition on thy sins. (And so I began to strike thee down unto perdition, for thy sins.)

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Micah 6:3-13 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.