Mic 6 | ESV | STEP | Hear what the Lord says : Arise , plead your case before the mountains , and let the hills hear your voice .

‏ Micah 6

The Indictment of the Lord

1 ^aHear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 ^bHear, you mountains, ^cthe 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, ^dwhat have I done to you?
^eHow have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For ^fI brought you up from the land of Egypt
and ^gredeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and ^hMiriam.
5 O my people, remember ⁱwhat Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from ^jShittim to Gilgal,
that you may know ^kthe righteous acts of the Lord.”

What Does the Lord Require?

6 ^l“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before ^mGod on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 ⁿWill the Lord be pleased with ^{▼▼Or Will the Lord accept} thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
^pShall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and ^qwhat does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, ^{▼▼Or steadfast love}
and to ^swalk humbly with your God?

Destruction of the Wicked

9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city—
and it is sound wisdom to fear ^tyour name:
“Hear of ^uthe rod and of him who appointed it! ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
10 Can I forget any longer the treasures ^{▼▼Or Are there still treasures} of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit the man ^xwith wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12 Your ^{▼▼Hebrew whose} rich men are ^zfull of violence;
your inhabitants ^aaspeak lies,
and ^abtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
^acmaking you desolate because of your sins.
14 ^adYou shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15 ^aeYou shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16 For you have kept the statutes of ^afOmri, ^{▼▼Hebrew For the statutes of Omri are kept}
and all the works of the house of ^ahAhab;
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you ^aia desolation, and your ^{▼▼Hebrew its} inhabitants ^aka hissing;
so you shall bear ^althe scorn of my people.”