The Meaning of Micah 6:3 Explained

Micah 6:3

KJV: O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

YLT: O My people, what have I done to thee? And what -- have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.

Darby: O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

ASV: O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

O my people,  what have I done  unto thee? and wherein have I wearied  thee? testify  against me. 

What does Micah 6:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord called the Israelites, His people, to testify how He had caused them to be so weary of Him that they ceased to obey Him. His rhetorical questions were unanswerable; He had not given them reason to become dissatisfied with Him (cf. 1 Samuel 17:29; 1 Samuel 20:1; 1 Samuel 26:18; 1 Samuel 29:8; Isaiah 5:4). His questions convey a sense of pathos; rather than simply criticizing them, He asked how He had failed them. They had complained against Him often, but He had given them no occasion to do so.

Context Summary

Micah 6:1-16 - "what Doth The Lord Require Of Thee?"
In Micah 6:1-4 the prophet returns from his vision of the future to the actual condition of his people, which was utterly desperate. The mountains, as the most enduring monuments of nature, are summoned as witnesses in the great trial between Jehovah and His people. Like Israel, we have been delivered from the house of bondage with infinite love, but how wayward and willful we have been! Micah 6:5-8 prove the impotence of a religion which is only external.
Few have known more sublime truth than Baalim, Micah 6:5, but he loved the wages of unrighteousness; and this eclipsed the divine radiance that became overcast and finally overwhelmed. Micah 6:9-11 reveal the fruitlessness of a life of sin. Sooner or later nature herself becomes unresponsive-sowing, but no harvest; the treading of the press, but no juice. The only path to real satisfaction and peace is in the love and faithful service of God. Why are we so slow to tread it? [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 6

1  God's punishment for ingratitude;
6  for ignorance,
10  for injustice;
16  and for idolatry

What do the individual words in Micah 6:3 mean?

My people what have I done to you and how have I wearied you Testify against Me
עַמִּ֛י מֶה־ עָשִׂ֥יתִי לְךָ֖ וּמָ֣ה הֶלְאֵתִ֑יךָ עֲנֵ֥ה בִּֽי‪‬

עַמִּ֛י  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
עָשִׂ֥יתִי  have  I  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
לְךָ֖  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
וּמָ֣ה  and  how 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
הֶלְאֵתִ֑יךָ  have  I  wearied  you 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: לָאָה  
Sense: to be weary, be impatient, be grieved, be offended.
עֲנֵ֥ה  Testify 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
בִּֽי‪‬  against  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular