Micah 6:12

Translations

Modern

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.

Traditional

For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Literal

How her rich men are full of violence, and her dwellers have spoken deception, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth!

Latin

In quibus divites ejus repleti sunt iniquitate, et habitantes in ea loquebantur mendacium, et lingua eorum fraudulenta in ore eorum.

Original

Hebrew

English

For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.

Notes

Micah 6:10–12

The Lord brought clear charges against his people. Israel had become a community marked by lies and dishonesty. Because of this, they faced rejection and destruction.

The people gained wealth through dishonest means. They used unfair business practices and relied on threats and violence. These actions were not fitting for people who claimed to belong to God (see 2 Kings 6:25; Hosea 12:7–8; Amos 8:5–6).

They were unable to change because lying had become their normal way of life (compare Proverbs 6:16–19). As a result, Israel was corrupt in every part of its life.

Micah 6:9–16

People in Jerusalem were invited to learn from Samaria: If you oppress others to gain wealth (Micah 6:10–12), you will never have enough, no matter how much you acquire (6:13–15). Eventually, you will lose even that (Micah 6:16). Such people deserve scorn, not honor and praise (Micah 6:16).

Micah 6:1–16

The Lord presented, argued, and decided a case against his rebellious people, Israel. This section is written as a formal legal court case. Other prophets use the same pattern (compare Isaiah 1:2–4; Jeremiah 2:4–9; Hosea 4).

Using the image of a courtroom, the Lord challenged his people to state their case against him. At the same time, he stated his case against them (Micah 6:1–5). The people had not obeyed what the Lord required of them (Micah 6:6–8), so they were found guilty (6:9–12).

After the guilty verdict, the passage describes Israel’s punishment. This final section announces the sentence that follows the judgment (Micah 6:13–16).

Theme notes and profiles

Concern for the Poor

Events

Prophecies of Micah

Related verses

Isaiah 1:23
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
Hosea 7:13
Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.
Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
Isaiah 3:8
For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence.
Micah 2:1–2
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
Jeremiah 9:2–6
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
Romans 3:13
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
Zephaniah 3:3
Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
Jeremiah 5:26–29
For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
Jeremiah 6:6–7
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.
Amos 5:11–12
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.

Glossary

Balance, Balances Book of Micah Courts and Trials

Topics

Falsehood: General Scriptures Concerning Measure: Must be Just Riches: Often Lead to Violence The Rich: General Scriptures Concerning

Micah 6:12

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