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 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ² 

you follow their policies. ³ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ⁴ 

the city’s ⁵  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ⁶ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ⁷ 

[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.”

[6:16]  ² tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ³ tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.

[6:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ⁷ tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[6:16]  tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.