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14 The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment
    on the elders and rulers of his people:
“You have ruined Israel, my vineyard.
    Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.

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14 The Lord enters into judgment(A)
    against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
    the plunder(B) from the poor(C) is in your houses.

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Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you
    and brings judgment against you?

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“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?(A)

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But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

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But you have dishonored the poor.(A) Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?(B)

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Israel’s Failure to Learn

Listen to me, you fat cows[a]
    living in Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor
    and crush the needy,
and who are always calling to your husbands,
    “Bring us another drink!”

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Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Hebrew you cows of Bashan.

Israel Has Not Returned to God

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(A) on Mount Samaria,(B)
    you women who oppress the poor(C) and crush the needy(D)
    and say to your husbands,(E) “Bring us some drinks!(F)

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27 Like a cage filled with birds,
    their homes are filled with evil plots.
    And now they are great and rich.

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27 Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;(A)
they have become rich(B) and powerful

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The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
    The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
He expected a crop of justice,
    but instead he found oppression.
He expected to find righteousness,
    but instead he heard cries of violence.

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The vineyard(A) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(B) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(C) but heard cries of distress.(D)

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all their heroes and soldiers,
    judges and prophets,
    fortune-tellers and elders,
army officers and high officials,
    advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.

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    the hero and the warrior,(A)
the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner(B) and the elder,(C)
the captain of fifty(D) and the man of rank,(E)
    the counselor, skilled craftsman(F) and clever enchanter.(G)

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Don’t put your servant on trial,
    for no one is innocent before you.

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Do not bring your servant into judgment,
    for no one living is righteous(A) before you.

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Will those who do evil never learn?
    They eat up my people like bread
    and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.

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Do all these evildoers know nothing?(A)

They devour my people(B) as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.(C)

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“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,
    taking the baby as security for a loan.

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The fatherless(A) child is snatched(B) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized(C) for a debt.(D)

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Parable of the Evil Farmers

33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

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The Parable of the Tenants(A)

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(B) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(C) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(D)

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10 What shall I say about the homes of the wicked
    filled with treasures gained by cheating?
What about the disgusting practice
    of measuring out grain with dishonest measures?[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 6:10 Hebrew of using the short ephah? The ephah was a unit for measuring grain.

10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
    and the short ephah,[a] which is accursed?(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 6:10 An ephah was a dry measure.

When you want a piece of land,
    you find a way to seize it.
When you want someone’s house,
    you take it by fraud and violence.
You cheat a man of his property,
    stealing his family’s inheritance.

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They covet fields(A) and seize them,(B)
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud(C) people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.(D)

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