Micah 3:6–11

6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,

and darkness, without divination.

The sun will set for the prophets,

and the day will go dark for them.

7 The seers will be ashamed

and the diviners disgraced.

They will all cover their faces

because there is no answer from God.”

8 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.

9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,

you rulers of Israel,

who despise justice

and distort all that is right;

10 who build Zion with bloodshed,

and Jerusalem with wickedness.

11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,

her priests teach for a price,

and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,

“Is not the Lord among us?

No disaster will come upon us.”

6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without divination.

The sun shall go down on the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them;

7 the seers shall be disgraced,

and the diviners put to shame;

they shall all cover their lips,

for there is no answer from God.

8 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

and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel,

who detest justice

and make crooked all that is straight,

10 who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 Its heads give judgment for a bribe;

its priests teach for a price;

its prophets practice divination for money;

yet they lean on the Lord and say,

“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?

No disaster shall come upon us.”

6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision;

And it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine;

And the sun shall go down over the prophets,

And the day shall be dark over them.

7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded:

Yea, they shall all cover their lips;

For there is no answer of God.

8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord,

And of judgment, and of might,

To declare unto Jacob his transgression,

And to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob,

And princes of the house of Israel,

That abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

10 They build up Zion with blood,

And Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 The heads thereof judge for reward,

And the priests thereof teach for hire,

And the prophets thereof divine for money:

Yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say,

Is not the Lord among us?

None evil can come upon us.

6 Now the night will close around you,

cutting off all your visions.

Darkness will cover you,

putting an end to your predictions.

The sun will set for you prophets,

and your day will come to an end.

7 Then you seers will be put to shame,

and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced.

And you will cover your faces

because there is no answer from God.”

8 But as for me, I am filled with power—

with the Spirit of the Lord.

I am filled with justice and strength

to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion.

9 Listen to me, you leaders of Israel!

You hate justice and twist all that is right.

10 You are building Jerusalem

on a foundation of murder and corruption.

11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes;

you priests teach God’s laws only for a price;

you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid.

Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.

“No harm can come to us,” you say,

“for the Lord is here among us.”

6 So it will become like night for them, without visions.

It will become dark for them, without any way to tell the future.

The sun is about to set for the prophets;

their day will become dark.

7 The seers will be ashamed;

the people who see the future will be embarrassed.

Yes, all of them will cover their mouths,

because there will be no answer from God.”

8 But I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the Lord,

and with justice and strength,

to tell the people of Jacob how they have turned against God,

and the people of Israel how they have sinned.

9 Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel,

listen to me,

you who hate fairness

and twist what is right.

10 You build Jerusalem by murdering people;

you build it with evil.

11 Its judges take money

to decide who wins in court.

Its priests only teach for pay,

and its prophets only look into the future when they get paid.

But they lean on the Lord and say,

“The Lord is here with us,

so nothing bad will happen to us.”

6 Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them. 7 And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. 8 But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity. 10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.

6 therefore ye shall have night without a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, without divination; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them. 7 And the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners confounded; and they shall all cover their lips, for there will be no answer of God.

8 But truly I am filled with power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and with judgment and with might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. 9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity, 10 that build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with unrighteousness. 11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet do they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.

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 Seerswill be put to shame. 

Those who practice witchcraft will be disgraced. 

All of them will cover their faces, because God won’t answer them. 

8 But I am filled with the power of the Lord’s Spirit, 

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 the Lord when they say, 

“After all, the Lord is with us. 

Nothing bad will happen to us.” 

6 Therefore, it will be night for you—

without visions;

it will grow dark for you—

without divination.

The sun will set on these prophets,

and the daylight will turn black over them.

7 Then the seers will be ashamed

and the diviners disappointed.

They will all cover their mouths

because there will be no answer from God.

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

by the Spirit of the Lord,

with justice and courage,

to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion

and to Israel his sin.

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

you rulers of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice

and pervert everything that is right,

10 who build Zion with bloodshed

and Jerusalem with injustice.

11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,

her priests teach for payment,

and her prophets practice divination for money.

Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,

“Isn’t the Lord among us?

No disaster will overtake us.”

6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without revelation.

The sun shall go down upon the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them;

7 the seers shall be disgraced

and the diviners put to shame;

they shall all cover their lips,

for there is no answer from God.

8 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

and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob

and chiefs of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice

and pervert all equity,

10 who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with wrong!

11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe;

its priests teach for a price;

its prophets give oracles for money;

yet they lean upon the Lord and say,

“Surely the Lord is with us!

No harm shall come upon us.”

6 Therefore it will be as night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without divination.

And the sun will set on the prophets,

and the day will grow dark over them.

7 Then the seers will be disgraced,

and those practicing divination will be put to shame.

All of them will cover their lips,

for there is no reply from God.

8 But I, I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of Yahweh,

and with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob his rebellion,

and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, O rulers of the house of Jacob

and leaders of the house of Israel,

those detesting justice

and perverting all that is right,

10 he who builds Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with wickedness.

11 Its rulers judge for a bribe;

its priests teach for a price;

its prophets practice divination for money.

But they lean on Yahweh, saying,

“Is not Yahweh in our midst?

Disaster will not come upon us.”

6 So night will come on you.

But you will not have any visions.

Darkness will cover you.

But you will not be able

to figure out what is going to happen.

The sun will set on you prophets.

The day will become dark for you.

7 You who see visions will be put to shame.

You who try to figure out what is going to happen

will be dishonored.

All of you will cover your faces.

I will not answer you.”

8 The Spirit of the Lord

has filled me with power.

He helps me do what is fair.

He makes me brave.

Now I’m prepared to tell Jacob’s people

what they’ve done wrong.

I’m ready to tell Israel they’ve sinned.

9 Listen to me, you leaders of Jacob’s people!

Pay attention, you rulers of Israel!

You hate to do what is fair.

You twist everything that is right.

10 You build up Zion by spilling the blood of others.

You build Jerusalem by doing what is evil.

11 Your judges take money from people

who want special favors.

Your priests teach only if they get paid for it.

Your prophets won’t tell fortunes

unless they receive money.

But you still claim to depend on the Lord.

You say, “The Lord is with us.

No trouble will come on us.”

6 Therefore it will be night for you—without vision,

And darkness for you—without divination.

The sun will go down on the prophets,

And the day will become dark over them.

7 The seers will be ashamed

And the diviners will be embarrassed.

Indeed, they will all cover their mouths

Because there is no answer from God.

8 On the other hand I am filled with power—

With the Spirit of the Lord—

And with justice and courage

To make known to Jacob his rebellious act,

Even to Israel his sin.

9 Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob

And rulers of the house of Israel,

Who abhor justice

And twist everything that is straight,

10 Who build Zion with bloodshed

And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

11 Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,

Her priests instruct for a price

And her prophets divine for money.

Yet they lean on the Lord saying,

“Is not the Lord in our midst?

Calamity will not come upon us.”