Mic 6:1-2 | NET2full | STEP | Listen to what the Lord says : “ Get up ! Defend yourself before the mountains . Present your case before the hills .”

Micah 6:1-2

The Lord Demands Justice, not Ritual

1 Listen to what the Lord says:
“Get up! Defend yourself ^{▼▼tn Or “plead your case” (NASB, NIV84, NRSV); NAB “present your plea”; NLT “state your case”; NIV11 “plead my case.”} ^{▼▼sn Defend yourself. The Lord challenges Israel to defend itself against the charges he is bringing.} before the mountains. ^{▼▼sn As in some ancient Near Eastern treaties, the mountains are personified as legal witnesses that will settle the dispute between God and Israel.}
Present your case before the hills.” ^{▼▼tn Heb “let the hills hear your voice.”}
2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,
you enduring foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he has a dispute with Israel! ^{▼▼tn The prophet briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) to summon the mountains as witnesses. Though the prophet speaks, the quotation marks have been omitted to clarify that it is not the Lord still speaking.}