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Micha beschuldigt de leiders van het volk

Micha zegt: Luister, leiders van het volk Israël. Jullie zouden toch moeten weten wat eerlijk en rechtvaardig is? Maar jullie haten het goede en houden van het kwaad. Jullie nemen de mensen alles af. Jullie worden rijk van mijn volk. Zoals je een dier de huid afstroopt, de botten breekt en de stukken vlees in de kookpot stopt, zo doen jullie met de mensen. Er blijft niets van hen over.[a] Als jullie in die tijd de Heer om hulp roepen, zal Hij jullie niet antwoorden. Hij zal zich voor jullie verbergen, omdat jullie zulke slechte dingen doen.

Dit zegt de Heer tegen de profeten die mijn volk bedriegen: zolang ze te eten krijgen, profeteren ze vrede. Maar tegen mensen die hun niets geven, roepen ze de oorlog uit. Omdat jullie leugens profeteren, zal het nacht voor jullie worden. Omdat jullie aan waarzeggerij doen, zal het donker worden en zullen jullie niets van de toekomst kunnen zien. Zo zal de zon voor hen ondergaan en de dag zal voor deze profeten veranderen in nacht. De profeten zullen voor schut staan. De waarzeggers zullen niets weten te zeggen. Ze zullen een doek voor hun gezicht slaan, omdat ze zich schamen dat ze geen boodschap van de goden voor de mensen hebben.

– Maar ík ben vol van de kracht van de Geest van de Heer. Ik ben vol recht en vol kracht. Ik vertel het volk Israël dat ze verkeerd hebben gedaan.

Luister, leiders van het volk Israël! Jullie hebben een hekel aan eerlijke rechtspraak. 10 Jullie bouwen Jeruzalem op bloed en oneerlijkheid. 11 De rechters laten zich omkopen. De priesters willen betaald worden om de mensen les te geven in Gods woord. De profeten laten zich betalen om te waarzeggen. En dan beweren ze ook nog, dat de Heer met hen is. Ze zeggen: "De Heer is toch met ons? Er zal ons niets gebeuren."

12 Omdat jullie dit gedaan hebben, zal de berg Sion als een akker worden omgeploegd. Van Jeruzalem zullen alleen puinhopen overblijven. Op de top van de berg waar nu de tempel staat, zullen bomen en struiken groeien.

Footnotes

  1. Micha 3:3 Ze aten niet echt de mensen op. Micha bedoelde dat de rijke mensen steeds rijker werden, ten koste van de arme mensen die steeds armer werden.

The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil

Then I said,

“Listen, leaders of ·the people of Jacob [L Jacob];
    listen, you rulers of the ·nation [L house] of Israel.
·You should [L Should you not…?] know ·how to decide cases fairly [justice],
    but you hate good and love evil.
You skin my people alive
    and tear the flesh off their bones.
You ·eat [devour] my people’s flesh
    and skin them and break their bones;
you chop them up like meat for the pot,
    like meat in a cooking pan.
Then they will cry to the Lord,
    but he won’t answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them,
    because what they have done is evil.”

The Lord says this about the prophets who ·teach his people the wrong way of living [mislead/lead astray my people]:

“If these prophets are given food to eat,
    they shout, ‘Peace!’
But if someone doesn’t ·give them what they ask for [L place food in their mouths],
    they ·call for a holy war [declare war] against that person.
So it will become like night for them, without visions [C revelation from God will cease].
    It will become dark for them, without ·any way to tell the future [divination].
The sun is about to set for the prophets;
    their day will become dark.
The seers [C another name for prophets] will be ashamed;
    the ·people who see the future [diviners] will be ·embarrassed [disgraced; humiliated].
Yes, all of them will cover their ·mouths [or lips; or faces],
    because there will be no answer from God.”

Micah Is an Honest Prophet of God

But I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and ·strength [might],
to ·tell the people of Jacob [L declare to Jacob] ·how they have turned against God [L his transgression],
    and ·the people of Israel [L Israel] how they have sinned.
Leaders of [L the house of] Jacob and rulers of [L the house of] Israel,
    listen to me,
you who hate ·fairness [justice]
    and ·twist [pervert; distort] what is ·right [straight].
10 You build ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] ·by murdering people [L with bloodshed];
    you build it with ·evil [wickedness; iniquity].
11 Its ·judges take money
    to decide who wins in court [L rulers judge for a bribe].
Its priests only teach for ·pay [a price],
    and its prophets ·only look into the future when they get paid [tell fortunes/practice divination for money].
But they lean on the Lord and say,
    “The Lord is here with us,
    so ·nothing bad [no harm] will ·happen to [overtake; come upon] us.”
12 [L Therefore] Because of you,
    Jerusalem will be plowed like a field.
·The city [L Zion; v. 10] will become a ·pile of rocks [heap of rubble/ruins],
    and the ·hill [mountain] ·on which the Temple stands [L of the house] will be ·covered with bushes [an overgrown hill; wooded heights].

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders(A) of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
    you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
    and the flesh from their bones;(B)
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)

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)

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.
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)
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)
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)

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)