Mic 6:6-8 | NETfull | STEP | With what should I enter the Lord ’s presence? With what should I bow before the sovereign God? Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

Micah 6:6-8

6 With what should I ^{▼▼ 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.} enter the Lord’s presence?
With what ^{▼▼ The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.} should I bow before the sovereign God? ^{▼▼ Or “the exalted God.”}
Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
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? ^{▼▼ 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.”}
8 He has told you, O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you: ^{▼▼ What the Lord really wants from you. Now the prophet switches roles and answers the hypothetical worshiper’s question. He makes it clear that the Lord desires proper attitudes more than ritual and sacrifice.}
He wants you to ^{▼▼ Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”} promote ^{▼▼ Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”} justice, to be faithful, ^{▼▼ Heb “to love faithfulness.”}
and to live obediently before ^{▼▼ Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”} your God.