3
The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil
1 Then I said, “Listen, leaders of Jacob and officers of the nation* of Israel!
You should know what justice is.
2 But you hate good and love evil.
You tear the skin off the people
and tear the flesh off their bones.
3 You are destroying my people.†
You take their skin off them and break their bones.
You chop their bones up like meat to put in the pot!
4 Then 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
5 Some 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.
7 The 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
8 But 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
9 Leaders 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!
10 You build Zion by murdering people.‡
You build Jerusalem by cheating people!
11 The 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.”
12 Leaders, 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§ overgrown with bushes.
* 3:1 nation Literally, “house.” This might mean the royal family of that country. † 3:3 You are destroying my people Literally, “You who eat the flesh of my people.” ‡ 3:10 murdering people Literally, “bloodshed.” § 3:12 empty hill Or “high place,” a term usually used for local shrines (places for worship) where people often worshiped idols.