ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Micah 6.1-8

Book: Micah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

1. Hear ye now what Jehovah saith: Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 2. Hear, O ye mountains, Jehovah's controversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 4. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; remember from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteous acts of Jehovah. 6. Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? 7. will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?

  1. The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. 10. Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure that is abominable? (Micah 6:1-10, ASV)
WEB

1. Listen now to what Yahweh says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear what you have to say. 2. Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3. My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me! 4. For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5. My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of Yahweh.” 6. How shall I come before Yahweh, and bow myself before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7. Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8. He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

  1. Yahweh’s voice calls to the city, and wisdom sees your name: “Listen to the rod, and he who appointed it. 10. Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a short ephah that is accursed? (Micah 6:1-10, WEB)
KJV

1. Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. before: or, with 2. Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 3. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 4. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD. 6. Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? of a: Heb. sons of a year? 7. Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or 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? body: Heb. belly 8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? walk: Heb. humble thyself to walk

  1. The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. the man: or, thy name shall see that which is 10. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Are: or, Is there yet unto every man an house of the, etc scant: Heb. measure of leanness (Micah 6:1-10, KJV)
YLT

1. Hear, I pray you, that which Jehovah is saying: 'Rise, strive thou with the mountains, And cause thou the hills to hear thy voice.' 2. Hear, O mountains, the strife of Jehovah, Ye strong ones, foundations of earth! For a strife [is] to Jehovah, with His people, And with Israel He doth reason. 3. O My people, what have I done to thee? And what, have I wearied thee? Testify against Me. 4. For I brought thee up from the land of Egypt, And from the house of servants I have ransomed thee, And I send before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5. O My people, remember, I pray you, What counsel did Balak king of Moab, What answer him did Balaam son of Beor, (From Shittim unto Gilgal,) In order to know the righteous acts of Jehovah.' 6. With what do I come before Jehovah? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves, sons of a year? 7. Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my first-born [for] my transgression? The fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul? 8. He hath declared to thee, O man, what [is] good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except, to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?

  1. A voice of Jehovah to the city calleth, And wisdom doth fear Thy name, Hear ye the rod, and Him who appointed it. 10. Are there yet [in] the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness, And the abhorred scanty ephah? (Micah 6:1-10, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Jehovah, presenting his case (6:1-5); a worshipper, speaking as one of the people (6:6-7); and the prophet, giving the answer (6:8).
  • Audience: "my people," Israel, with the mountains, hills and "enduring foundations of the earth" summoned as witnesses.
  • Location: Judah, staged as a court with creation as the gallery.
  • Time period: Late eighth century BC, in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah (Micah 1:1), the same years as Isaiah; Jeremiah 26:18 remembers Micah prophesying "in the days of Hezekiah".

Theological reading

A covenant lawsuit. The unit follows the order of a court case. Witnesses are summoned (6:1-2, treated on Micah 6:1-2). The plaintiff states his case (6:3-5). The defendant responds (6:6-7). A verdict and instruction are given (6:8, treated on Micah 6:6-8). The word "controversy" (6:2) translates the Hebrew rib, a legal dispute, and Jehovah is both the injured party and the one who states the terms of the covenant.

Grace before demand. Before any requirement is stated, God recites what he has done: "I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam" (6:4). The order matches Sinai, where the commandments begin "I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2). What God asks in 6:8 is the response to redemption, not the price of it.

The wrong kind of answer. The case is about a broken relationship; the worshipper answers with an offer of payment, and keeps raising the price (6:6-7). The escalation shows he has misunderstood the charge. God has not asked for more offerings; he has asked "what have I done unto thee?" (6:3).

The verdict already given. "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good" (6:8). The verdict is not a new law but a reminder of what was already revealed. The lawsuit ends not with a fine but with a way of life: justice, kindness, and a humble walk with God. For the three requirements in detail, see Micah 6:8.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:


Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.