Add parallel Print Page Options

“He will say, ‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel!
You should know justice, should you not?—
you who despise good and love evil,
    who tear off the skin of my people,[a]
        along with the flesh from their bones.
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.’

“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

“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]
‘You will have nights without visions,
    and darkness without prophecy.
The sun will set on the prophets,
    and the day will darken for them.
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

“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.
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.”

Footnotes

  1. Micah 3:2 The Heb. lacks of my people
  2. Micah 3:3 The Heb. lacks meat
  3. Micah 3:5 Lit. who bite with their teeth, crying out “Peace”
  4. Micah 3:5 Lit. against him who puts nothing in their mouths
  5. Micah 3:7 Lit. beard
  6. Micah 3:8 The Heb. lacks filled
  7. Micah 3:9 Lit. pervert all

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)