שִׁמְעוּ־נָא אֵת אֲשֶׁר־ה' אֹמֵר קוּם רִיב אֶת הֶהָרִים וְתִשְׁמַעְנָה הַגְּבָעוֹת קוֹלֶךָ

Hear now that which the Lord is saying to the prophet: Arise; quarrel with the dwellers in the mountains, and let those who reside in the hills hear your voice. Proclaim your admonishment to the entire land.

שִׁמְעוּ הָרִים אֶת־רִיב ה'וְהָאֵתָנִים מֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ כִּי רִיב לַה' עִם־עַמּוֹ וְעִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל יִתְוַכָּח

Hear, mountains, the Lord’s quarrel, and the strong foundations of the earth, as the Lord has a quarrel with His people, and with Israel He will contend. God has a dispute with Israel.

עַמִּי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי לְךָ! וּמָה הֶלְאֵתִיךָ ! עֲנֵה בִי

God states His claim against Israel: My people, what wrong did I do to you, and how did I exhaust you, by making your lives so difficult that you turn from Me and refuse to listen to My voice? Testify against Me.

כִּי הֶעֱלִתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וּמִבֵּית עֲבָדִים פְּדִיתִיךָ וָאֶשְׁלַח לְפָנֶיךָ אֶת־מֹשֶׁה אַהֲרֹן וּמִרְיָם

For I took you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, your leaders, who took care of your every need.

עַמִּי זְכָר־נָא מַה־יָּעַץ בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב וּמֶה־עָנָה אֹתוֹ בִּלְעָם בֶּן־בְּעוֹר מִן־הַשִּׁטִּים עַד־הַגִּלְגָּל לְמַעַן דַּעַת צִדְקוֹת ה'

Furthermore, My people, remember now what Balak king of Moav devised, to have you cursed, and what Bilam son of Beor answered him, bestowing a blessing. Also recall what happened to you in the same period, from Shitim to Gilgal, where your sons sinned with the daughters of Moav and Midyan and yet you were not assimilated into those nations; on the contrary, you overcame them. All this was in order to know the righteous and good acts of the Lord. This is the response to the claim that God has treated Israel unjustly.

בַּמָּה אֲקַדֵּם ה' אִכַּף לֵאלֹהֵי מָרוֹם ! הַאֲקַדְּמֶנּוּ בְעוֹלוֹת בַּעֲגָלִים בְּנֵי שָׁנָה!

The prophet responds to the other claim, that the service of God wearies Israel. With what shall I approach the Lord, and bow to God on high? How is it fitting to honor Him? Shall I approach Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? Does He want me to bring to Him expensive calves as burnt offerings?

הֲיִרְצֶה ה' בְּאַלְפֵי אֵילִים בְּרִבְבוֹת נַחֲלֵי־שָׁמֶן! הַאֶתֵּן בְּכוֹרִי פִּשְׁעִי פְּרִי בִטְנִי חַטַּאת נַפְשִׁי!

Does the Lord desire thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn as the price for my transgression, the fruit of my belly in exchange for the sin of my soul? Does God want me to sacrifice my son to Him in order to atone for my sins?

הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה־טּוֹב וּמָה־ה' דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם־עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶיךָ

God does not want choice burnt offerings or rivers of oil, nor does He request human sacrifice. He told you, man, what is good, and what the Lord demands from you: He is not asking for extraordinary deeds, but only to execute justice, to observe His statutes and laws, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God, by acting in a modest manner and leading a humble life. While you must recognize, thank, and praise God for all the miracles He has performed for you, He does not request extraordinary offerings from you, but unassuming deeds.

קוֹל ה' לָעִיר יִקְרָא וְתוּשִׁיָּה יִרְאֶה שְׁמֶךָ שִׁמְעוּ מַטֶּה וּמִי יְעָדָהּ

The voice of the Lord calls to the city through the word of the prophet, and wisdom will perceive Your name, to attend to the prophet’s counsel. Alternatively, this is an aside stated by the prophet: One who has wisdom will reflect and recognize Your name, God. Hear, you leaders, the rod [mateh] of your approaching punishment, or my reproof, and see who has ordained it, the retribution. Some explain that the prophet is referring to the leaders as perverters of [matei] justice.

עוֹד הַאִשׁ בֵית רָשָׁע אֹצְרוֹת רֶשַׁע וְאֵיפַת רָזוֹן זְעוּמָה !

Are there still storehouses of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and is there still use of the outrageous scant ephah; the wicked using false measures within commerce? Can such unjust practices be maintained?

הַאֶזְכֶּה בְּמֹאזְנֵי רֶשַׁע וּבְכִיס אַבְנֵי מִרְמָה!

Will I gain, will I profit, or can I find merit with scales of wickedness, scales that can be used for fraud, or with a pouch full of deceitful weights?

אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׁירֶיהָ מָלְאוּ חָמָס וְיֹשְׁבֶיהָ דִּבְּרוּ־שָׁקֶר וּלְשׁוֹנָם רְמִיָּה בְּפִיהֶם

It is that city whose wealthy are filled with villainy, they commit acts of injustice and extortion that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the law, and its inhabitants spoke falsehood; their tongue is deceit in their mouth.

וְגַם־אֲנִי הֶחֱלֵיתִי הַכּוֹתֶךָ הַשְׁמֵם עַל חַטֹּאתֶךָ

God states: I, too, have been made ill in smiting you. It is as though God Himself is wounded, as it were, from having to smite you over and over again for your sins. I am desolate for your sins, or I am amazed and I suffer due to your sins.

אַתָּה תֹאכַל וְלֹא תִשְׂבָּע וְיֶשְׁחֲךָ בְּקִרְבֶּךָ וְתַסֵּג וְלֹא תַפְלִיט וַאֲשֶׁר תְּפַלֵּט לַחֶרֶב אֶתֵּן

The prophet states the punishment for these sins: You will eat but you will not be satisfied, and your excrement will be within you; your digested foods will remain inside you, and you will be unable to expel them. You will extricate but you will not rescue. There are other interpretations of this clause: Even if you remove your children from danger, you will be unable to save them, or: You will try to move and advance, but your efforts will be unsuccessful. And those whom you manage to rescue, I will give to the sword. The enemy will consume everything.

אַתָּה תִזְרַע וְלֹא תִקְצוֹר אַתָּה תִדְרֹךְ־זַיִת וְלֹא־תָסוּךְ שֶׁמֶן וְתִירוֹשׁ וְלֹא תִשְׁתֶּה־יָּיִן

You will sow but you will not reap; you will trample olives but you will not spread oil; and you will extract juice from grapes, but you will not drink wine. There are allusions here to the reproach given in the book of Deuteronomy.

וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּר חֻקּוֹת עָמְרִי וְכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה בֵית־אַחְאָב וַתֵּלְכוּ בְּמֹעֲצוֹתָם לְמַעַן תִּתִּי אֹתְךָ לְשַׁמָּה וְיֹשְׁבֶיהָ לִשְׁרֵקָה וְחֶרְפַּת עַמִּי תִּשָּׂאוּ

The statutes of Omri king of Israel and all the actions of the house of Ahav will be preserved. You have not changed for the better. Although in Micah’s time the dynasty of Ahav no longer ruled over Israel, the prophet does not consider this fact significant. The rulers were different, but the form of government of the family of Omri and Ahav remained intact. And you follow their schemes so that I render you a desolation and its inhabitants, the inhabitants of the land, will be an object of whistling, as people will whistle in astonishment at them; and you, the leaders who are responsible, will bear the disgrace of My people.