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The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

Listen to what the Lord says:

“Get up! Defend yourself[a] before the mountains.[b]
Present your case before the hills.”[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:1 tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case.”sn Defend yourself. The Lord challenges Israel to defend itself against the charges he is bringing.
  2. Micah 6:1 sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.
  3. Micah 6:1 tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”

Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,
you enduring foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he has a dispute with Israel![a]

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:2 tn The prophet briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) to summon the mountains as witnesses. Though the prophet speaks, the quotation marks have been omitted to clarify that it is not the Lord still speaking.

The heavens declare his fairness,[a]
for God is judge.[b] (Selah)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 50:6 tn Or “justice.”
  2. Psalm 50:6 tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).