Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
Parallel translations
- WEB Listen now to what Yahweh says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear what you have to say.
- KJV Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
- NKJV Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice.
- NASB Hear now what the Lord is saying, “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice.
- NLT Listen to what the Lord is saying: “Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God summons His people to plead their case before the mountains and hills as witnesses. It opens a covenant lawsuit between the LORD and Israel.
Overview
Micah calls the people to a courtroom scene where the enduring mountains serve as witnesses to God's controversy with Israel. This 'covenant lawsuit' form invites the people to consider whether God has any fault in His dealings with them. It sets up the LORD's gracious appeal and the famous call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly that follows in this chapter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Jer 22:29O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
- Deut 32:1Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Mic 1:2Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
- Ezek 36:1“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
- Ps 50:4He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:
- Deut 4:26I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
- Isa 1:2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
- Ezek 36:8But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home.
- Ps 50:1A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.
- Luke 19:40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”
- Mic 1:4The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- Ezek 37:4And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
- Jer 13:15Listen and give heed. Do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken.
- Isa 2:12–14For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—
- Amos 3:1Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
- 1 Sam 15:16“Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied.
- Heb 3:7–8Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Micah names the town — 'But you, Bethlehem... from you shall come forth one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old' — the birthplace of the eternal King.
How Micah 6:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.