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
Lexham English Bible
Israel’s Leaders Denounced
3 And I said,
“Listen, O heads of Jacob
and leaders of the house of Israel!
Is it not for you to know justice?
2 Those of you who are haters of good
and lovers of evil,
who tear their skin from them
and their flesh from their bones,
3 and who eat the flesh of my people,
and strip their skin from them,
and break their bones,
and chop them like meat in the pot,
and like flesh in the midst of a cooking pot.”
4 Then they will cry to Yahweh,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
when they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets
who are leading my people astray,
who are biting with their teeth
and proclaim, “Peace,”
but whoever puts nothing into their mouths
they declare war against.
6 Therefore it will be as night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
And the sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will grow dark over them.
7 Then the seers will be disgraced,
and those practicing divination will be put to shame.
All of them will cover their lips,
for there is no reply from God.
8 But I, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of Yahweh,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his rebellion,
and to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, O rulers of the house of Jacob
and leaders of the house of Israel,
those detesting justice
and perverting all that is right,
10 he who builds Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Its rulers judge for a bribe;
its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money.
But they lean on Yahweh, saying,
“Is not Yahweh in our midst?
Disaster will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore on account of you
Zion will be plowed as a field,
and Jerusalem will be a heap of rubble,
and the temple mount[a] as a high place in a forest.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:12 Literally “the mountain of the house”
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