Micah 3

1 And I said: Listen, leaders of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel. Does it not belong to you to know judgment,

And he shall say, Hear now these words, you heads of the house of Jacob, and you remnant of the house of Israel; is it not for you to know judgement?

2 you who hold hatred for good, and love evil, who violently steal their skins from over them and their flesh from over their bones?

[who] hate good, and seek evil; [who] tear their skins off them, and their flesh off their bones:

3 They have devoured the flesh of my people, and have stripped their skin from over them, and they have shattered and chopped their bones, as if for the kettle, and like flesh in the middle of the pot.

even as they devoured the flesh of my people, and stripped their skins off them, and broke their bones, and divided [them] as flesh for the cauldron, and as meat for the pot,

4 Then they will cry out to the Lord, and he will not heed them. And he will hide his face from them in that time, just as they have acted wickedly with their inventions.

thus they shall cry to the Lord, but he shall not listen to them; and he shall turn away his face from them at that time, because they have done wickedly in their practices against themselves.

5 Thus says the Lord about the prophets who seduce my people: They bite with their teeth and preach peace, and if anyone does not give something to their mouth, they sanctify a battle against him.

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets that lead my people astray, that bit with their teeth, and proclaim peace to them; and [when] nothing was put into their mouth, they raised up war against them:

6 Because of this, night will be yours for vision, and darkness yours for divination, and the sun will meet with death over the prophets, and the day will be darkened over them.

therefore there shall be night to you instead of a vision, and there shall be to you darkness instead of prophecy; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark upon them.

7 And those who see visions will be confounded, and the diviners will be confounded. And they will all cover their faces, because there is no response from God.

And the seers of night-visions shall be ashamed, and the prophets shall be laughed to scorn: and all the people shall speak against them, because there shall be none to listen to them.

8 Nevertheless, truly I have been filled with the strength of the Spirit of the Lord, with judgment and virtue, in order to announce to Jacob his wickedness and to Israel his sin.

Surely I will strengthen myself with the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgement, and of power, to declare to Jacob his transgressions, and to Israel his sins.

9 Hear this, leaders of the house of Jacob and judges of the house of Israel, you who abominate judgment and who pervert all that is right.

Hear now these words, you chiefs of the house of Jacob, and the remnant of the house of Israel, who hate judgement, and pervert all righteousness;

10 You build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

who build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 Her leaders have judged for tributes, and her priests have taught for payment, and her prophets divined for money. And they leaned upon the Lord, saying: “Is not the Lord in our midst? No disaster will overcome us.”

The heads thereof have judged for gifts, and the priests thereof have answered for hire, and her prophets have divined for silver: and [yet] they have rested on the Lord, saying, Is not the Lord amongst us? no evil shall come upon us.

12 For this reason, because of you, Zion will be plowed under like a field, and Jerusalem will become like a pile of stones, and the mountain of the temple like the high places of the forests.

Therefore on your account Sion shall be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a storehouse of fruits, and the mountain of the house as a grove of the forest.