Micah 3

Unjust Leaders Judged

3Then I said, “Now listen, ^kleaders of Jacob,

you rulers of the house of Israel.

Aren’t you supposed to know what is just? ^l

²You hate good and love evil.

You tear off people’s skin ^m

and strip their flesh from their bones.

³You eat the flesh ⁿof my people

after you strip their skin from them

and break their bones.

You chop them up ^o

like flesh for the cooking pot,

like meat in a cauldron.”

⁴Then they will cry out ^pto the Lord,

but He will not answer them.

He will hide His face from them at that time ^q

because of the crimes they have committed.

False Prophets Judged

⁵This is what the Lord says

concerning the prophets

who lead my people astray, ^r

who proclaim ^speace

when they have food to sink their teeth into

but declare war against the one

who puts nothing in their mouths.

⁶Therefore, it will be night ^tfor you—

without visions;

it will grow dark for you—

without divination. ^u

The sun will set ^von these prophets,

and the daylight will turn black over them.

⁷Then the seers will be ashamed ^w

and the diviners disappointed. ^x

They will all cover their mouths ^yz

because there will be no answer from God. ^a

⁸As for me, however, I am filled with power ^b

by the Spirit of the Lord,

with justice and courage,

to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion

and to Israel his sin. ^c

Zion’s Destruction

⁹Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob, ^d

you rulers of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice ^e

and pervert everything that is right,

¹⁰who build Zion with bloodshed ^f

and Jerusalem with injustice.

¹¹Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe, ^g

her priests teach for payment, ^h

and her prophets practice divination for money.

Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,

“Isn’t the Lord ⁱamong us?

No disaster will overtake us.”

¹²Therefore, because of you,

Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become ruins, ^j

and the hill of the temple mount ^k

will be a thicket. ^l