Mic 3 | HCSB | STEP | Then I said , “Now listen , leaders of Jacob , you rulers of the house of Israel . Aren’t you supposed to know what is just ?

‏ Micah 3

Unjust Leaders Judged

1 Then I said, “Now listen, ^a leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just? ^b
2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin ^c
and strip their flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh ^d of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up ^e
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
4 Then they will cry out ^f to the Lord,
but He will not answer them.
He will hide His face from them at that time ^g
because of the crimes they have committed.

False Prophets Judged

5 This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray, ^h
who proclaim ⁱ peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
6 Therefore, it will be night ^j for you –
without visions;
it will grow dark for you –
without ^{▼▼divination: An attempt to foresee future events or discover hidden knowledge by means of physical objects such as water, arrows, flying birds, or animal livers}divination. ^l
The sun will set ^m on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
7 Then the seers will be ashamed ⁿ
and the diviners disappointed. ^o
They will all cover their mouths ^{▼▼Lit mustache
,} ^q
because there will be no answer from God. ^r

8 As for me, however, I am filled with power ^s
by the Spirit of the Lord,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin. ^t

Zion’s Destruction

9 Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob, ^u
you rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice ^v
and pervert everything that is right,
10 who build ^{▼▼Zion: Originally a term for the fortified section of Jerusalem and then, by extension, used for the temple and the city of Jerusalem both in the present time and in the future}Zion with bloodshed ^x
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe, ^y
her priests teach for payment, ^z
and her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord ^aa among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins, ^ab
and the hill of the temple mount ^ac
will be a thicket. ^ad