Listen now to what Yahweh says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear what you have to say.
Parallel translations
- KJV Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
- BSB Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your 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 earth, earth, earth, hear Yahweh’s word!
- Deut 32:1Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
- Mic 1:2Hear, you peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth, and all that is therein: and let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
- Ezek 36:1You, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, You mountains of Israel, hear Yahweh’s word.
- Ps 50:4He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people:
- Deut 4:26I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed.
- Isa 1:2Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
- Ezek 36:8But you, mountains of Israel, you shall shoot out your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they are at hand to come.
- Ps 50:1A Psalm by Asaph. The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.
- Luke 19:40He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
- Mic 1:4The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place.
- Ezek 37:4Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, you dry bones, hear Yahweh’s word.
- Jer 13:15Hear, and give ear. Don’t be proud; for Yahweh has spoken.
- Isa 2:12–14For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and haughty, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
- Amos 3:1Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:
- 1 Sam 15:16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh said to me last night.” He said to him, “Say on.”
- Heb 3:7–8Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.