Micah 3
Expanded Bible
The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil
3 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],
2 but you hate good and love evil.
You skin my people alive
and tear the flesh off their bones.
3 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.
4 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.”
5 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.
6 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.
7 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
8 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.
9 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].
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