Micah 6–7; Psalm 36

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Micah 6–7

The Indictment of the Lord

qHear what the Lord says:

Arise, plead your case before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your voice.

rHear, you mountains, sthe 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.

O my people, twhat have I done to you?

uHow have I wearied you? Answer me!

For vI brought you up from the land of Egypt

and wredeemed you from the house of slavery,

and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and xMiriam.

O my people, remember ywhat Balak king of Moab devised,

and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from zShittim to Gilgal,

that you may know athe righteous acts of the Lord.

What Does the Lord Require?

bWith what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before cGod on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

dWill the Lord be pleased with1 thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

eShall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has told you, O man, what is good;

and fwhat does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,2

and to gwalk humbly with your God?

Destruction of the Wicked

The voice of the Lord cries to the city

and it is sound wisdom to fear hyour name:

Hear of ithe rod and of him who appointed it!3

10  Can I forget any longer the treasures4 of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

and the scant measure that is accursed?

11  Shall I acquit the man jwith wicked scales

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12  Your5 rich men are kfull of violence;

your inhabitants lspeak lies,

and mtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13  Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,

nmaking you desolate because of your sins.

14  oYou 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  pYou 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 qOmri,6

and all the works of the house of rAhab;

and you have walked in their counsels,

that I may make you sa desolation, and your7 inhabitants sa hissing;

so you shall bear tthe scorn of my people.

Wait for the God of Salvation

Woe is me! For I have become

uas when the summer fruit has been gathered,

as when the grapes have been gleaned:

there is no cluster to eat,

no vfirst-ripe fig that my soul desires.

wThe godly has perished from the earth,

and xthere is no one upright among mankind;

ythey all lie in wait for blood,

and zeach hunts the other with a net.

aTheir hands are on what is evil, to do it well;

bthe prince and cthe judge ask for a bribe,

and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;

thus they weave it together.

The best of them is dlike a brier,

the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

The day of eyour watchmen, of your punishment, has come;

fnow their confusion is at hand.

gPut no trust in a neighbor;

have no confidence in a friend;

guard hthe doors of your mouth

from her who lies in your arms;8

for ithe son treats the father with contempt,

the daughter rises up against her mother,

the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

ja man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

kI will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.

lRejoice not over me, O mmy enemy;

nwhen I fall, I shall rise;

owhen I sit in darkness,

the Lord will be a light to me.

pI will bear the indignation of the Lord

because I have sinned against him,

until qhe pleads my cause

and executes judgment for me.

rHe will bring me out to the light;

I shall look upon his vindication.

10  Then smy enemy will see,

and shame will cover her who tsaid to me,

Where is the Lord your God?

uMy eyes will look upon her;

now she will be trampled down

vlike the mire of the streets.

11  wA day for the building of your walls!

In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12  In that day they9 will come to you,

yfrom Assyria and the cities of Egypt,

and from Egypt to zthe River,10

afrom sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13  But bthe earth will be desolate

because of its inhabitants,

for the fruit of their deeds.

14  cShepherd your people dwith your staff,

the flock of your inheritance,

who dwell alone in a forest

ein the midst of fa garden land;11

let them graze in Bashan and Gilead

as in the days of old.

15  gAs in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,

I will show them12 marvelous things.

16  hThe nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;

ithey shall lay their hands on their mouths;

their ears shall be deaf;

17  jthey shall lick the dust like a serpent,

like the crawling things of the earth;

kthey shall come trembling out of their strongholds;

lthey shall turn in dread to the Lord our God,

and they shall be in fear of you.

God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion

18  mWho is a God like you, npardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression

nfor the remnant of his inheritance?

oHe does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in steadfast love.

19  He will pagain have compassion on us;

qhe will tread our iniquities underfoot.

rYou will cast all our13 sins

into the depths of the sea.

20  sYou will show faithfulness to Jacob

and steadfast love to Abraham,

tas you have sworn to our fathers

from the days of old.


Psalm 36

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the xservant of the Lord.

Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;1

ythere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

The words of his mouth are atrouble and deceit;

bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.

He cplots dtrouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in ea way that is not good;

fhe does not reject evil.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

hyour judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you isave, O Lord.

jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge kin the shadow of your wings.

They feast on lthe abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from mthe river of nyour delights.

For with you is othe fountain of life;

pin your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who qknow you,

and your righteousness to rthe upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There sthe evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, tunable to rise.