Micah 3
Names of God Bible
Israel’s Sinful Leaders—Rulers, Prophets, and Priests
3 Then I said:
Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel.
You should know justice.
2 You hate good and love evil.
You strip the skin off my people and the flesh off their bones.
3 You eat my people’s flesh.
You strip off their skin.
You break their bones to pieces.
You chop them up like meat for a pot, like stew meat for a kettle.
4 Then you will cry to Yahweh,
but he will not answer you.
He will hide his face from you at that time
because you have done evil things.
5 This is what Yahweh says about the prophets who mislead my people:
When they have something to eat, they say, “All is well!”
But they declare a holy war against those who don’t feed them.
6 That is why you will have nights without visions.
You will have darkness without revelations.
The sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will turn dark for them.
7 Seers[a] will be put to shame.
Those who practice witchcraft will be disgraced.
All of them will cover their faces, because Elohim won’t answer them.
8 But I am filled with the power of Ruach Yahweh,
with justice, and with strength.
So I will tell the descendants of Jacob about their crimes
and the nation of Israel about its sins.
9 Listen to this, you leaders of the descendants of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation of Israel.
You despise justice and pervert everything that is right.
10 You build Zion on bloodshed and Jerusalem on wickedness.
11 Your leaders exchange justice for bribes.
Your priests teach for a price.
Your prophets tell the future for money.
But they rely on Yahweh when they say,
“After all, Yahweh is with us.
Nothing bad will happen to us.”
12 Because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble,
and the temple mountain will become a worship site
covered with trees.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:7 A seer is a prophet.
Michoh 3
Orthodox Jewish Bible
3 And I said, Hear, O Rashei Ya’akov, and ye Ketzinim of Bais Yisroel. Is it not for you to have da’as of Mishpat (Justice)?
2 Who hate the tov, and love the rah; who tear off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their atzamot (bones);
3 Who also eat the flesh of Ami, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their atzamot, and chop them in pieces, like for the pot, and like the basar within the caldron.
4 Then shall they cry unto Hashem, but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because of the evil way they behaved themselves in their doings.
5 Thus saith Hashem concerning the nevi’im that make Ami err, leading them astray, the nevi’im that bite with their teeth, and preach, Shalom! And whoever putteth nothing into their mouths, v’kiddeshu milchamah (they sanctify war) against him.
6 Therefore lailah shall be unto you, because of the chazon; and choshech shall come upon you because of the soothsaying, the divination; and the shemesh shall go down over the nevi’im, and hayom shall be dark over them.
7 Then shall the chozim (seers) be ashamed, and the kosemim (diviners) blush in bushah; yea, they shall all cover their safam (mustache, i.e., their lips); ki ein ma’aneh Elohim (for there is no answer of G-d).
8 But truly I am full of ko’ach by the Ruach [Hakodesh] of Hashem, and of mishpat, and of gevurah (might), to preach unto Ya’akov his peysha, and to Yisroel his chattat. [Yeshayah 53:5,8,12]
9 Hear this, I pray you, ye Rashei Bais Ya’akov, and Ketzinim of Bais Yisroel, that abhor mishpat, and twist kol haYesharah (all the right, the straight).
10 Boneh Tziyon b’damim (they build up Tziyon with blood), and Yerushalayim with avlah (iniquity).
11 Her Rashim judge for a bribe, and her kohanim play the hireling moreh (teacher), and her nevi’im are fortunetellers for kesef; yet will they lean upon Hashem? And say, Is not Hashem among us? No ra’ah will come upon us.
12 Therefore because of you, Tziyon shall be plowed as a sadeh, and Yerushalayim shall become a rubble heap, and the Har HaBeis (HaMikdash, i.e., the Temple Mount) shall become a mound of scrubs. [T.N. fulfilled 586, B.C.E., 70 C.E.]
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
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