Micah 3
English Standard Version
Rulers and Prophets Denounced
3 And I said:
(A)Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
(B)Is it not for you to know justice?—
2 you (C)who hate the good and love the evil,
(D)who tear the skin from off my people[a]
and their flesh from off their bones,
3 (E)who eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
4 (F)Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
(G)he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning (H)the prophets
who lead my people astray,
(I)who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore (J)it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
(K)The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 (L)the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
(M)they shall all cover their lips,
for (N)there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, (O)I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob (P)his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 (Q)Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
(R)who detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
10 (S)who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 (T)Its heads give judgment for a bribe;
(U)its priests teach for a price;
(V)its prophets practice divination for money;
(W)yet they lean on the Lord and (X)say,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
(Y)No disaster shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
(Z)Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem (AA)shall become a heap of ruins,
and (AB)the mountain of the house (AC)a wooded height.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:2 Hebrew from off them
Micah 3
Christian Standard Bible
Unjust Leaders Judged
3 Then I said, “Now listen,(A) leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?(B)
2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin(C)
and strip their flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh(D) of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up(E)
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
4 Then they will cry out(F) to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time(G)
because of the crimes they have committed.
False Prophets Judged
5 This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,(H)
who proclaim(I) peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
6 Therefore, it will be night(J) for you—
without visions;
it will grow dark for you—
without divination.(K)
The sun will set(L) on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
7 Then the seers will be ashamed(M)
and the diviners disappointed.(N)
They will all cover their mouths[a](O)
because there will be no answer from God.(P)
8 As for me, however, I am filled with power(Q)
by the Spirit of the Lord,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin.(R)
Zion’s Destruction
9 Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob,(S)
you rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice(T)
and pervert everything that is right,
10 who build Zion with bloodshed(U)
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,(V)
her priests teach for payment,(W)
and her prophets practice divination for silver.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord(X) among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,(Y)
and the temple’s mountain(Z)
will be a high thicket.(AA)
Footnotes
- 3:7 Lit mustache
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.