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
International Standard Version
3 “He will say, ‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel!
You should know justice, should you not?—
2 you who despise good and love evil,
who tear off the skin of my people,[a]
along with the flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh of my people,
flaying their skin from them.
You break their bones,
chopping them in pieces like meat[b] for a pot,
like meat destined for a soup kettle.’
4 “Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not listen to them.
In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they were so wicked in what they were doing.”
God’s Judgment against False Prophets
5 “This is what the Lord says about the prophets
who are causing my people to go astray,
who are calling out ‘Peace’ when they’re being fed,[c]
but who declare war against those who won’t feed them:[d]
6 ‘You will have nights without visions,
and darkness without prophecy.
The sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will darken for them.
7 Those who see visions will be put to shame,
and the diviners will be disgraced—every one of them—
they will cover their faces,[e]
because there will be no answer from God.’”
The Message of God’s Prophet
8 “As for me, I am truly filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord,
filled[f] with judgment and power
to announce to Jacob his transgression,
and to Israel his sin.
9 Please listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel,
you who hate administering justice,
who pervert the very meaning of[g] equity,
10 who are building up Zion by means of bloodshed,
and Jerusalem by means of iniquity.
11 Her leaders judge for the money,
her priests teach only when they’re paid,
and her prophets prophesy for cash.
Even so, don’t they all rely on the Lord as they ask,
‘The Lord is among us, is he not?
Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!’
12 “Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the Temple Mount like a forest high place.”
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