Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel:
Parallel translations
- WEB Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
- KJV Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
- NKJV Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the Lord has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel.
- NASB “Listen, you mountains, to the indictment by the Lord, And you enduring foundations of the earth, Because the Lord has a case against His people; And He will dispute with Israel.
- NLT And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint! He has a case against his people. He will bring charges against Israel.
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
Yahweh summons the mountains and the foundations of the earth as witnesses while He brings a legal case against His covenant people. It matters because God holds Israel accountable to the relationship He established with them.
Overview
Using courtroom imagery, the LORD lodges a formal "controversy" (Hebrew rib, a lawsuit) against Israel, calling enduring creation itself to witness. This sets up the covenant-lawsuit form that structures Micah 6, where God is both wronged party and judge. The passage reminds us that God's complaints against His people are just, even as the gospel will later answer such a lawsuit in Christ, who bears the verdict we deserve.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Hos 4:1Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
- Hos 12:2The LORD also brings a charge against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.
- Isa 1:18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- 2 Sam 22:16The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
- Prov 8:29when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.
- Ps 104:5He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.
- Deut 32:22For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains.
- Jer 25:31The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD.
- Isa 5:3“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
- 2 Sam 22:8Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- Jer 2:9Therefore, I will contend with you again, declares the LORD, and I will bring a case against your children’s children.
- Ezek 20:35–36And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
- Jer 31:37This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done,” declares the LORD.
- Jer 2:29–35Why do you bring a case against Me? You have all rebelled against Me,” declares the LORD.
- Isa 43:26Remind Me, let us argue the matter together. State your case, so that you may be vindicated.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:2 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.