ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Micah 6.7-8
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Passage

Micah 6.7-8

Book: Micah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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 6:5-10, ASV)
WEB

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 6:5-10, WEB)
KJV

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 6:5-10, KJV)
YLT

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 6:5-10, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: In 6:7, the worshipper, finishing his escalating question; in 6:8, the prophet's answer.
  • Audience: Israel under the charge of Jehovah's lawsuit, and "O man," every human being.
  • Location: Judah, in the courtroom scene of Micah 6.
  • 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

From the fruit of the body to the walk of the person. The two verses meet at a hinge. The worshipper offers "the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul" (6:7). The answer asks for nothing outside the person: "to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God" (6:8). The worshipper wants to give something in his own place, even his child. God asks for the worshipper himself, his conduct, his loyalty and his walk.

The offer that answers itself. The final offer is child sacrifice, which the law forbade (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31) and which Ahaz, one of the kings named in Micah 1:1, practiced (2 Kings 16:3). Bargaining religion, pushed to its end, arrives at an atrocity, and verse 8 shuts that road. On the escalation itself, see Micah 6:7.

The question 6:8 leaves open. The worshipper asked about "my transgression" and "the sin of my soul." Verse 8 tells him how to live, but it does not say how transgression is removed. Micah answers that at the end of the book, and the answer is God's own act: "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression" (Micah 7:18). The sinner cannot pay for his soul with his firstborn; God himself pardons. See Micah 7:18-20.

Use in apologetics. The pairing is frequently cited against the charge that the God of Israel wanted human sacrifice: the text raises the idea only to reject it, and replaces it with justice, kindness and humility. See Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament and God and the Killing of Children.

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.