Micah 3

The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil

1Then I said, “Listen, leaders of Jacob and officers of the nation#3:1 nation Literally, “house.” This might mean the royal family of that country. of Israel!

You should know what justice is.

2But you hate good and love evil.

You tear the skin off the people

and tear the flesh off their bones.

3You are destroying my people.#3:3 You are destroying my people Literally, “You who eat the flesh of my people.”

You take their skin off them and break their bones.

You chop their bones up like meat to put in the pot!

4Then you will pray to the Lord,

but he will not answer you.

No, he will hide his face from you,

because what you do is evil.”

False Prophets

5Some false prophets are telling lies to the Lord’s people. This is what the Lord says about them:

“These prophets are led by their stomachs.

They promise peace for those who give them food,

but they promise war to those who do not give them food.

6“This is why it is like night for you

and you don’t have visions.

You cannot see what will happen in the future,

so it is like darkness to you.

The sun has gone down on the prophets.

They cannot see what will happen in the future,

so it is like darkness to them.

7The seers are ashamed.

The fortunetellers are embarrassed.

None of them will say anything,

because God will not speak to them.”

Micah Is an Honest Prophet of God

8But the Lord’s Spirit has filled me

with power, goodness, and strength.

So I can tell Jacob about his crimes,

and so I can tell Israel about his sins!

The Leaders of Israel Are to Blame

9Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel, listen to me!

You hate the right way of living!

If something is straight,

then you make it crooked!

10You build Zion by murdering people.#3:10 murdering people Literally, “bloodshed.”

You build Jerusalem by cheating people!

11The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes

to help them decide who wins in court.

The priests in Jerusalem must be paid

before they will teach the people.

People must pay the prophets

before they will look into the future.

Then those leaders expect the Lord to help them.

They say, “The Lord lives here with us,

so nothing bad will happen to us.”

12Leaders, because of you, Zion will be destroyed.

It will become a plowed field.

Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks.

Temple Mount will be an empty hill#3:12 empty hill Or “high place,” a term usually used for local shrines (places for worship) where people often worshiped idols. overgrown with bushes.

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Micah 3: ERV

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