Bible Strands
Micah 6:3
‘My people, what have I done to you? Testify against Me how I have wearied you!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses His people Israel in a legal indictment following His call for the mountains to witness the case (Micah 6:2). He speaks immediately before recounting His past acts of deliverance (Micah 6:4).
The words — The Hebrew מֶה (meh) means "what?" and appears twice to frame the LORD's rhetorical challenge. The verb עֲנֵה ('a.Neh) commands the people to "testify" or produce evidence against Him.
The thread — God's pattern of questioning Israel's grievances appears in Jeremiah 2:5 and Isaiah 43:22, where the people's straying and weariness are directly addressed. The call for the people to heed His voice parallels the appeal in Psalm 81:13.
Why it lands — The text demands that Israel produce concrete proof of any wrong God has committed against them. It forces the reader to confront the factual reality of ungratefulness when divine rescue is met with accusations of exhaustion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 2:5 This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves.
- Isaiah 43:22 But you have not called on Me, O Jacob, because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.
- Psalms 81:13 If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways,
- Jeremiah 2:31 You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?
- Psalms 50:7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.
- Micah 6:5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
- Romans 3:4 Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
- Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Psalms 51:4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
- Psalms 81:8 Hear, O My people, and I will warn you: O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!