Micah 3
World English Bible
3 I said,
“Please listen, you heads of Jacob,
and rulers of the house of Israel:
Isn’t it for you to know justice?
2 You who hate the good,
and love the evil;
who tear off their skin,
and their flesh from off their bones;
3 who also eat the flesh of my people,
and peel their skin from off them,
and break their bones,
and chop them in pieces, as for the pot,
and as meat within the cauldron.
4 Then they will cry to Yahweh,
but he will not answer them.
Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they made their deeds evil.”
5 Yahweh says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, “Peace!” and whoever doesn’t provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:
6 “Therefore night is over you, with no vision,
and it is dark to you, that you may not divine;
and the sun will go down on the prophets,
and the day will be black over them.
7 The seers shall be disappointed,
and the diviners confounded.
Yes, they shall all cover their lips;
for there is no answer from God.”[a]
8 But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit,
and of judgment, and of might,
to declare to Jacob his disobedience,
and to Israel his sin.
9 Please listen to this, you heads of the house of Jacob,
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice,
and pervert all equity.
10 They build up Zion with blood,
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 Her leaders judge for bribes,
and her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money:
yet they lean on Yahweh, and say,
“Isn’t Yahweh among us?
No disaster will come on us.”
12 Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.
Footnotes
- 3:7 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
Micah 3
Holman 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 money.
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 hill of the temple mount(Z)
will be a thicket.(AA)
Footnotes
- Micah 3:7 Lit mustache
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