BibleWord.ai› Bible› Micah› Chapter 6› Verse 11

Micah 6:11

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Micah 6:11 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights?
Micah 6:11 — American Standard Version

Context — Micah 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
8He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
9The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and [the man of] wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
10Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a scant measure that is abominable?
11Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13Therefore I also have smitten thee with a grievous wound; I have made thee desolate because of thy sins.
14Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy humiliation shall be in the midst of thee: and thou shalt put away, but shalt not save; and that which thou savest will I give up to the sword.
← Micah 6:10Micah 6:12 →
← Full Chapter 6 Micah Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Shall I count [them] pure with the wicked balances, etc.] These are the words either of the prophet, or rather of God, signifying that he could not, and would not, allow, countenance, and approve of persons that used false scales or balances; or justify and reckon them just, as they would be thought to be, but condemn them, and pronounce them very wicked men, and deserving of punishment here and hereafter: and with the bag of deceitful weights? or “stones”f207; which were used in weighing goods, and which were deceitful, when a heavier was used in buying, and a lighter in selling. So the Targum, “and with the bag, in which are weights greater and lesser;” condemned in (<052513>Deuteronomy…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Shall I count them pure--literally, "Shall I be pure with?" &c. With the pure God shows Himself pure; but with the froward God shows Himself froward (Psa 18:26). Men often are changeable in their judgments. But God, in the case of the impure who use "wicked balances," cannot be pure, that is, cannot deal with them as He would with the pure. VATABLUS and HENDERSON make the "I" to be "any one"; "Can I (that is, one) be innocent with wicked balances?" But as "I," in Mic 6:13, refers to Jehovah, it must refer to Him also here. the bag--in which weights used to be carried, as well as money (Deu 25:13; Pro 16:11).”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Shall I count them pure? - Rather, (as the English margin) “Shall I be pure?” The prophet takes for the time their person and bids them judge themselves in him. If it would defile me, how are ye, with all your other sins, not defiled? All these things were expressly forbidden in the law. “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in mete-yard, in weight or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah and a just him, shall ye have” Leviticus 19:35-36; and, “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteousness are an abomination unto…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Count them pure - Approve, or acquit then as if they were righteous. Micah 6:12”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“count them pure: or, be pure the wicked: Hos 12:7 the bag: Pro 16:11 Micah 6:12”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read Micah 6 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification