Micah 6
The full text of Micah 6 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Hear now what the LORD says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, O mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
and you enduring foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 "O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you?
Testify against me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember now
what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam son of Beor answered him—
from Shittim to Gilgal—
that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD."
6 "With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
9 The voice of the LORD cries out to the city—
and wisdom fears your name—
"Hear the rod and the one who appointed it!
10 Can I forget the treasures of wickedness
in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of dishonest weights?
12 Her rich men are full of violence;
her inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I have begun to strike you,
making you desolate because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied,
and emptiness will be within you.
You will put aside but not save,
and what you save I will give to the sword.
15 You will sow but not reap;
you will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil;
you will tread grapes but not drink wine.
16 You have kept the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of the house of Ahab,
and you have walked in their counsels—
so that I may make you a desolation
and your inhabitants an object of hissing.
You will bear the scorn of my people.
Translation notes (7)
- Micah 6:1a Covenant lawsuit (rib) genre; mountains as witnesses to covenant (cf. Deut 32:1)
- Micah 6:7a This is a climactic hyperbole, an extreme exaggeration, culminating in child sacrifice, which was considered the ultimate human offering but was rejected.
- Micah 6:8a The Hebrew word 'hesed' means covenant faithfulness, loyalty, or mercy. The phrase 'hatsnea lekhet' means to walk humbly, carefully, or attentively.
- Micah 6:9a The Hebrew here is very difficult to translate. The phrase 'Tushiyyah yir'eh shemeka' has been variously emended, meaning changed, but the standard Hebrew text is preserved here.
- Micah 6:10a The Hebrew word is 'ha'ish,' though some scholars emend, or change, it to 'ha'esh,' meaning 'fire.' An 'ephah of leanness' refers to a fraudulent short measure.
- Micah 6:14a These are futility curses, which parallel the covenant curse tradition found in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26.
- Micah 6:16a Omri and Ahab were part of a northern dynasty notorious for Baal worship and injustice.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
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