Micah 6:6

6:6 With what should I ¹  enter the Lord’s presence?

With what ²  should I bow before the sovereign God? ³ 

Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,

with year-old calves?

Micah 6:10

6:10 “I will not overlook, ⁴  O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, ⁵ 

or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. ⁶ 

[6:6]  ¹ sn With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? The prophet speaks again, playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper who wants to know what God really desires from his followers.

[6:6]  ² tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.

[6:6]  ³ tn Or “the exalted God.”

[6:10]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”

[6:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”

[6:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”