Balak

This translation was taken from the JPS Tanakh

Micha 5:6 – 6:8

⁶ The remnant of Jacob shall be,
In the midst of the many peoples,
Like dew from the Lord,
Like droplets on grass–
Which do not look to any man
Nor place their hope in mortals.

⁷ The remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the nations,
In the midst of the many peoples,
Like a lion among beasts of the wild,
Like a fierce lion among flocks of sheep,
Which tramples wherever it goes
And rends, with none to deliver.
⁸ Your hand shall prevail over your foes,
And all your enemies shall be cut down!
⁹ In that day

–declares the Lord–

 

I will destroy the horses in your midst
And wreck your chariots.
¹⁰ I will destroy the cities of your land
And demolish all your fortresses.
¹¹ I will destroy the sorcery you practice,
And you shall have no more soothsayers.
¹² I will destroy your idols
And the sacred pillars in your midst;
And no more shall you bow down
To the work of your hands.
¹³ I will tear down the sacred posts in your midst
And destroy your cities.
¹⁴ In anger and wrath
Will I wreak retribution
On the nations that have not obeyed.

Chapter 6
¹ Hear what the Lord is saying:
Come, present [My] case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear you pleading.

² Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord–
You firm foundations of the earth!
For the Lord has a case against His people,
He has a suit against Israel.

³ “My people!
What wrong have I done you?
What hardship have I caused you?
Testify against Me.
⁴ In fact,
I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage,
And I sent before you
Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
⁵ “My people,
Remember what Balak king of Moab
Plotted against you,
And how Balaam son of Beor
Responded to him.
[Recall your passage]
From Shittim to Gilgal–
And you will recognize
The gracious acts of the Lord.”

⁶ With what shall I approach the Lord,
Do homage to God on high?
Shall I approach Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
⁷ Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
With myriads of streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for my sins?

⁸ “He has told you, O man, what is good,
And what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do justice
And to love goodness,
And to walk modestly with your God.”

Taken from Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society) 1985.
Used by permission of The Jewish Publication Society. Copyright © 1962, 1992
Third Edition by the Jewish Publication Society.
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