1 AND I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
3 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
4 Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
5 Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
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.
12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

1And I said, Heare, I pray you, O heads of Iacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know iudgement?

2Who hate the good and loue the euill, who plucke off their skinne from off them, and their flesh from off their bones.

3Who also eate the flesh of my people, and flay their skinne from off them, and they breake their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron.

4Then shall they cry vnto the Lord, but he will not heare them: he will euen hide his face from them at that time, as they haue behaued themselues ill in their doings.

5 Thus saith the Lord concerning the Prophets that make my people erre, that bite with their teeth and crie; Peace: and he that putteth not into their mouths, they euen prepare warre against him:

6Therefore night shall be vnto you, that yee shall not haue a vision, and it shall be darke vnto you, that yee shall not diuine, and the Sunne shall goe downe ouer the Prophets, and the day shall be darke ouer them.

7Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diuiners confounded: yea, they shall all couer their lips; for there is no answere of God.

8 But truely I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of iudgment and of might, to declare vnto Iacob his transgression, and to Israel his sinne.

9Heare this, I pray you, yee heads of the house of Iacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhorre iudgement and peruert all equitie.

10They build vp Zion with blood, and Ierusalem with iniquitie.

11The heads thereof iudge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hyre, and the Prophets thereof diuine for money: yet will they leane vpon the Lord, and say; Is not the Lord among vs? none euill can come vpon vs.

12Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Ierusalem shal become heapes, and the mountaine of the house, as the high places of the forrest.

I == Jer 5:4-5

 

 

 

III == Ps 14:4 ; Ezek 11:3 , 7

 

 

IV == Ps 18:41 ; Prov 1:28 ; Isa 1:15 ; Ezek 8:18 ; Zech 7:13

 

V == Isa 56:10-11 ; Ezek 13:10 , 18-19 ; 22:25 ; Mic 2:11 ; Matt 7:15

 

VI == Isa 8:20 , 22 ; Ezek 13:23 ; Amos 8:9 ; Zech 13:4

 

VII == Ps 74:9 ; Amos 8:11

 

VIII == Isa 58:1

 

 

 

 

 

X == Jer 22:13 ; Ezek 22:27 ; Hab 2:12 ; Zeph 3:3

XI == Isa 1:23 ; 48:2 ; Jer 6:13 ; 7:4 ; Ezek 22:12 ; Hos 4:18 ; Mic 7:3 ; Rom 2:17

 

XII == Ps 79:1 ; Jer 26:18 ; Mich 1:6 ; 4:2

 

 

 

1 And I said: Hear, you leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not your duty to know what is right,

2 you who hate what is good, and love evil? You who tear their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones!

3 They eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from them, and break their bones. They chop them in pieces like flesh in a kettle, and like meat in a caldron.

4 When they cry to the LORD, he shall not answer them; Rather shall he hide his face from them at that time, because of the evil they have done.

5 Thus says the LORD regarding the prophets who lead my people astray; Who, when their teeth have something to bite, announce peace, But when one fails to put something in their mouth, proclaim war against him.

6 Therefore you shall have night, not vision, darkness, not divination; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them.

7 Then shall the seers be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; They shall cover their lips, all of them, because there is no answer from God.

8 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, with authority and with might; To declare to Jacob his crimes and to Israel his sins.

9 Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel! You who abhor what is just, and pervert all that is right;

10 Who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness!

11 Her leaders render judgment for a bribe, her priests give decisions for a salary, her prophets divine for money, While they rely on the LORD, saying, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil can come upon us!"

12 Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem reduced to rubble, And the mount of the temple to a forest ridge.

v 1-3. Micah reproves the leaders of the 12 tribes for perverting justice. They took advantage of the people, devouring them as a hunter would turn his prey into stew.

v 4. Too late, in their captivity, Israel would cry out to the Lord, but get no help.

v 5. God denounces false prophets for telling people what they want to hear. If they are full they talk of peace; if they are hungry they talk of war.

v 6,7. A darkness from prophecy would cause these false prophets to cover their faces in shame (as when a man of that day whose beard was cut off covered his mouth with shame), when they had no answer from God. There was 400 years of this darkness, or silence from God between the Old and New Testaments.

v 8. In contrast to them, Micah spoke truth and was full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and was able to declare judgment was coming because of their sin.

v 9-11. The leaders are again denounced for perverting justice, taking part in bloodshed, priests and prophets accepting bribery for their decisions or prophecies.

v 12. Because of them, and causing people to sin, Jerusalem would be a waste.