Micah 6:15

¹³ Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.

¹⁴ Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

¹⁶ For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
KJV: Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
WEB: You will sow, but won’t reap. You will tread the olives, but won’t anoint yourself with oil; and crush grapes, but won’t drink the wine.
ASV: Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt not drink the wine.
DARBY: Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and new wine, but shalt not drink wine.
BLB: You will sow, and you will not reap; you will tread the olives, and you will not anoint yourselves with oil, and new wine, and you will not drink the wine.

ÅB: Du skal så, men ikke høste.
Du skal trå oliven, men ikke salve deg med olje,
få most, men ikke drikke vin.
OTB: Du skal så, men du skal ikke høste.
Du skal tråkke olivenpressen, men ikke salve deg med olje;
Og tråkke druer, men du skal ikke drikke vin.
B1930: Du skal så, men ikke høste; du skal presse oljebær, men ikke salve dig med olje; du skal presse druer, men ikke drikke vin.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Zephaniah 1:13
Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
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Amos 5:11
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
Read in context
Jeremiah 12:13
They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Read in context
Isaiah 62:8–9
The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:38–40
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
Read in context
Haggai 1:6
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
Read in context
Leviticus 26:20
And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
Read in context
Joel 1:10–12
The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Read in context