Mikha 6:7

6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,

or ten thousand streams of olive oil?

Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,

my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? ¹ 

Mikha 7:3

7:3 They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ² 

government officials and judges take bribes, ³ 

prominent men make demands,

and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ⁴ 

[6:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”

[7:3]  ² tn Heb “upon evil [are their] hands to do [it] well.”

[7:3]  ³ tn Heb “the official asks – and the judge – for a bribe.”

[7:3]  ⁴ tn More literally, “the great one announces what his appetite desires and they weave it together.” Apparently this means that subordinates plot and maneuver to make sure the prominent man’s desires materialize.