What does Micah 6:8 mean?

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:8, King James Version

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The verse in its chapter

Micah 6:6-10

6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
9 The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?

Study note

Tyndale Open Study Notes (CC BY-SA 4.0).

6:8 Good means what is right in God’s eyes; God is the source of all goodness (Gen 1; Exod 33:19; 34:6-7; Deut 12:28). • what is right (Hebrew mishpat, often translated “justice”): God’s order in the world requires treatment of others in fair, non-manipulative, non-oppressive ways. • mercy (Hebrew khesed): This passionate, undeserved loyalty is the defining quality in God’s holy character (see Ps 136). Those who know God will act in the same way toward others (see Gen 21:22-24; Josh 2:12-14; Matt 5:43-48). • walk humbly: Humility must characterize God’s people. They must not live in a spirit of arrogance or special privilege. They must be humble and reverently fear God.

Cross references

Other Bible passages linked to this one, most cited first.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
Proverbs 21:3
To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Colossians 3:12
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Jeremiah 22:3
Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
1 Samuel 15:22
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

About the book of Micah

Author: Micah of Moresheth (Micah 1:1)
When: c. 735 to 700 BC
Period: Reino dividido, c. 930 a 586 a.C. (in Portuguese)

Authorship: the book itself or Christian tradition. Approximate dates, as in Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, and Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament.