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Micah 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Micah 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
1 [a]And I said:
Hear, you leaders of Jacob,
rulers of the house of Israel!
Is it not your duty to know what is right,
2 you who hate what is good, and love evil?
You who tear their skin from them,
and their flesh from their bones;(A)
3 Who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin from them,
and break their bones;
Who chop them in pieces like flesh in a kettle,
like meat in a pot.
4 When they cry to the Lord,
he will not answer them;
He will hide his face from them at that time,
because of the evil they have done.
5 [b]Thus says the Lord regarding the prophets:
O you who lead my people astray,
When your teeth have something to bite
you announce peace,
But proclaim war against the one
who fails to put something in your mouth.(B)
6 Therefore you shall have night, not vision,
darkness, not divination;
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be dark for them.(C)
7 Then the seers shall be put to shame,
and the diviners confounded;
They shall all cover their lips,
because there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
with justice and with might;
To declare to Jacob his crimes
and to Israel his sins.
9 [c]Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel!
You who abhor justice,
and pervert all that is right;
10 Who build up Zion with bloodshed,
and Jerusalem with wickedness!
11 Its leaders render judgment for a bribe,
the priests teach for pay,
the prophets divine for money,
While they rely on the Lord, saying,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
No evil can come upon us!”(D)
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
and Jerusalem reduced to rubble,
And the mount of the temple
to a forest ridge.(E)
Footnotes
- 3:1–4 This prophecy of punishment has an introductory call to hear (v. 1a–b) and two major parts, the indictment or reasons for punishment (vv. 1c–3) and the announcement of judgment (v. 4). The prophet accuses the leaders and rulers of Israel of treating the people so badly that their actions are comparable to cannibalism. Those who, above all, should know and maintain justice are the most corrupt of all. In the time of trouble the Lord will withdraw (v. 4); that is, God will abandon the leaders to their fate and refuse to answer their prayers.
- 3:5–8 This prophecy of punishment concerns and is addressed to false prophets. The prophets in Jerusalem who mislead the people are corrupt because their word can be bought (v. 5). Therefore such prophets, seers, and diviners shall be disgraced, put to shame, left in the dark without vision or answer (vv. 6–7). But Micah is convinced that he is filled with power and the spirit of the Lord, which corresponds to justice and might (v. 8).
- 3:9–12 This is the most comprehensive of Micah’s prophecies of punishment concerning the leaders in Jerusalem. The indictment (vv. 9–11) includes all political and religious leaders. They combine corruption and greed with a false confidence that the Lord is on their side. But the announcement of judgment (v. 12) is not limited to the punishment of the leaders but includes Mount Zion where the Temple stands and the entire city, thus encompassing the entire population.
Micah 3
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Micah 3
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Wicked Rulers and Prophets
3 And I said:
Listen, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Should you not know justice?—
2 you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people,[a]
and the flesh off their bones;
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat[b] in a kettle,
like flesh in a caldron.
4 Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have acted wickedly.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against those
who put nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!
11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,
its priests teach for a price,
its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
“Surely the Lord is with us!
No harm shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
Micah 3
Common English Bible
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
New American Standard Bible
Micah 3
New American Standard Bible
Rulers Denounced
3 And I said,
“(A)Hear now, you [a]leaders of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel:
Is it not for you to (B)know justice?
2 You who hate good and love evil,
Who (C)tear off their skin from them
And their flesh from their bones,
3 Who (D)eat the flesh of my people,
Strip off their skin from them,
Smash their bones,
And (E)chop them up as for the pot,
And as meat in a cauldron!”
4 Then they will (F)cry out to the Lord,
But He will not answer them.
Instead, He will (G)hide His face from them at that time
Because they have (H)practiced evil deeds.
5 This is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who (I)lead my people astray:
When they have something to bite with their teeth,
They (J)cry out, “Peace!”
But against him who puts nothing in their mouths
They declare holy war.
6 Therefore it will be (K)night for you—without vision,
And darkness for you—without divination.
The (L)sun will go down on the prophets,
And the day will become dark over them.
7 The seers will be (M)put to shame,
And the (N)diviners will be ashamed.
Indeed, they will all (O)cover their [b]lips
Because there is (P)no answer from God.
8 On the other hand, (Q)I am filled with power—
With the Spirit of the Lord—
And with justice and courage
To (R)make known to Jacob his rebellious act,
And to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this, you (S)heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who (T)despise justice
And twist everything that is straight,
10 Who (U)build Zion with bloodshed,
And Jerusalem with malice.
11 Her leaders pronounce (V)judgment for a bribe,
Her (W)priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“(X)Is the Lord not in our midst?
Catastrophe will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore on account of you,
(Y)Zion will be plowed like a field,
(Z)Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the (AA)mountain of the [c]temple will become high places of a forest.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:1 Lit heads
- Micah 3:7 Lit mustache
- Micah 3:12 Lit house
Micah 3
New International Version
Micah 3
New International Version
Leaders and Prophets Rebuked
3 Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders(A) of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;(B)
3 who eat my people’s flesh,(C)
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;(D)
who chop(E) them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?(F)”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.(G)
At that time he will hide his face(H) from them
because of the evil they have done.(I)
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,(J)
they proclaim ‘peace’(K)
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.(L)
The sun will set for the prophets,(M)
and the day will go dark for them.(N)
7 The seers will be ashamed(O)
and the diviners disgraced.(P)
They will all cover(Q) their faces(R)
because there is no answer from God.(S)”
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.(T)
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;(U)
10 who build(V) Zion with bloodshed,(W)
and Jerusalem with wickedness.(X)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(Y)
her priests teach for a price,(Z)
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(AA)
Yet they look(AB) for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”(AC)
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(AD)
the temple(AE) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(AF)
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
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Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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