Micah 6.1-16 tells us Yehovah has presented his case against them, so he tells them to present their case (to cross-examine him). These legal terms are associated with what is called a Yom Ha Din or “day of judgment.”
v 1…Hear now what Yehovah is saying (in his lawsuit against his people), “Arise, plead your case before the mountains and let the hills hear your voice (they are to hear Yehovah’s indictment against Israel as witnesses because they have seen what Yehovah has done for Israel throughout the years, and they were the site of many abominations associated with idolatry committed on them-Gen 49.26; Deut 33.15; Psa 90.2; Hab 3.6).
v 2…Listen, you mountains, to the indictment (cause) of the Lord, and you enduring (strong) foundations of the earth (as witnesses), because the Lord (Yehovah) has a case against his people; even with Israel he will dispute (to get the case settled).
v 3…My people, what have I done to you (what more could I have done for you), and how have I wearied you (why have you run out of patience with me)? Answer me (testify against me in public).
v 4…Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt (he brings them back to the Exodus where they were showered with his mercy and kindness), and ransomed you from the house of slavery, and I sent (as a “shaliach” where we get the concept of “apostle” from) before you Moses (a lawgiver), Aaron (a priest before Yehovah) and Miriam (a prophetess).
v 5…My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled (to destroy Israel) and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, from Shittim to Gilgal (between the first station after Balaam’s blessing and the first station in Canaan-Num 25.1; Josh 4.19), in order that you might know the righteous acts of the Lord (in performing what he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in his covenant with them).
v 6…With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high (in humility to repair the bond of the covenant)? Shall I come to him with burnt offerings (Korban Olot), with yearling calves (considered the choicest of offerings)?
v 7…Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil (sparing no expense to restore the covenantal relationship)? Shall I present my first-born for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul (signifying the most precious possession-the answer to all this is “No.”)’
v 8…He has told you (already), O man (adam), what is good (by the light of the Torah), and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice (mishpat), to love kindness (chesed), and to walk humbly with your God (they know to do the good commanded in the Torah, and to avoid the evil forbidden by it).
v 9…The voice (kol) of the Lord will call to the city (of Jerusalem in warning) and sound wisdom shall see your name (gives attention to Yehovah’s revelation); hear the rod (the threatened judgment) and who has appointed it (Yehovah has appointed judgment for his people).
v 10…Is there yet a man in the wicked house, along with treasures of wickedness (does the wicked person still bring unjust gain into his house); and an ephah of leanness cursed (the rich “short-weighed” the people contrary to the Torah in Deut 25.13-16)?
v 11…Can I justify (count them pure) wicked scales and a bag of deceptive weights (to make the scales incorrect)?
v 12…For the rich man of the city (Jerusalem) are full of violence (cruel and unscrupulous), her residents speak lies (used fraud).
v 13…So I will make you sick, striking you down, desolating you because of your sins (of idolatry, injustice and oppression- as they did it to others, so Yehovah will do to them).
v 14…You will eat, but you will not be satisfied (hollowness of stomach), and your illness shall be in your midst (the bowels, like dysentery). And you shall draw back (to save goods and family, etc), but you will not preserve (save), and what you do preserve I will give to the sword (it will fall into the hands of the Assyrians and later the Babylonians)
v 15…You will sow but you will not reap (they will work but not get the benefits for various reasons). You will tread the olive but not anoint yourself with oil, and the grapes, but you will not drink wine (this is the rod of correction with which they are threatened-Lev 26.16; Deut 28.33).
v 16…The statues of Omri (who built Samaria and set up idolatry like Jeroboam) and all the works of Ahab are observed (Omri’s son, who married Jezebel, had a daughter named Athaliah who introduced Phoenician paganism into Judah); and in their devices you walk. Therefore, I will give you up (Samaria) to destruction and your inhabitants for derision (hissing and scorn), and you will bear the reproach of my people (the punishment in the Torah will come upon them-Deut 28.33-37).
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