Micah 3
Common English Bible
Micah justifies the coming destruction
3 But I said:
Hear, leaders of Jacob,
rulers of the house of Israel!
Isn’t it your job to know justice?—
2 you who hate good and love evil,
who tear the skin off them, and the flesh off their bones,
3 who devour the flesh of my people,
tear off their skin,
break their bones in pieces,
and spread them out as if in a pot,
like meat in a kettle.
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he won’t answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because of their evil deeds.
5 The Lord proclaims concerning the prophets,
those who lead my people astray,
those who chew with their teeth
and then proclaim “Peace!”
but stir up war against the one who puts nothing in their mouths:
6 Therefore, it will become night for you,
without vision, only darkness
without divination!
The sun will set on the prophets;
the day will be dark upon them.
7 Those seeing visions will be ashamed,
and the diviners disgraced;
they will all cover their upper lips,[a]
for there will be no answer from God.
8 But me! I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his wrongdoing and to Israel his sin!
9 Hear this, leaders of the house of Jacob,
rulers of the house of Israel,
you who reject justice and make crooked all that is straight,
10 who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with injustice!
11 Her officials give justice for a bribe,
and her priests teach for hire.
Her prophets offer divination for silver,
yet they rely on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord in our midst?
Evil won’t come upon us!”
12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become piles of rubble,
and the temple mount will become an overgrown mound.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:7 Or mustache or beard
Micah 3
The Voice
3 Listen to what I say, you leaders of Jacob who judge,
you rulers of the people of Israel who sit in the city gates.
Shouldn’t you know what justice is?
2 Yet you hate what is good and love evil;
you skin the people alive and tear the meat from their bones.
3 These selfish judges eat the flesh of my people,
strip off their skin, break their bones into splinters,
And chop them up like stew meat for the kettle,
like meat for the pot.
4 In that time something dire will happen, and they will call on the Eternal,
but He will not answer them.
He will hide His face from them then
because they have acted so wickedly.
5 This is my message for the false prophets
who have led my people so far from the truth,
Who preach peace when someone pays them with food
and declare war against those who don’t:
6 “It will be a dark night, too dark for you who lack vision,
and it will be darkness for you who cannot divine.”
The sun will go down on these so-called prophets,
and the day will be black all around them.
7 The seers will be in disgrace,
and those who predict the future ashamed.
They will keep their mouths shut
because there will be no word from God.
8 But that is not the case with me—I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Eternal One, with God’s justice and might,
To accuse Jacob of his crimes
and the daughter of Israel of her wrongdoing.
9 Now listen closely you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel
who hate what is right and just and make the straight path into a crooked road,
10 Who build Zion with innocent blood
and Jerusalem with wrongdoing.
11 Her leaders exchange justice for a bribe; her priests teach, but for a price;
her prophets divine for money,
Yet they have the gall to say as they lean on the Eternal,
“He is on our side! Nothing bad will happen to us!”
12 All of this is why Zion will be plowed flat as a field,
Jerusalem will become a tumble of rubble,
And the temple mountain will become an ordinary high place in the forest.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.