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,

I also said: Hear, O ye heads of Jacob, And ye leaders of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to administer justice?

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?

But ye hate what is good, and love what is evil; Ye tear from men their skin, Yea, their flesh from 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.

Ye devour the flesh of my people, And strip them of their skin, And break their bones, And cut them in pieces, as for the pot, And as flesh for the caldron?

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.

Then shall they cry to Jehovah, But he will not hear them; Yea, at that time will he hide his face from them, Because they have done iniquity.

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 saith Jehovah concerning the prophets, who deceive my people, Who, while they bite with their teeth, proclaim peace, But who, if one fill not their mouths, prepare war against him:

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 shall night come upon you, so that ye shall have no vision, And darkness, so that ye shall not divine; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, And the day shall be dark to 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.

Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded, So that all of them shall hide their faces, Because there is no answer from God.

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.

But I am full of power, even of the spirit of Jehovah; Full of uprightness and courage, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.

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.

O hear this, ye heads of the house of Jacob, And ye leaders of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice, And pervert all equity,

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

Who build up Zion 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.”

Her heads judge for reward, And her priests teach for hire, And her prophets divine for money, And yet they lean upon Jehovah, saying, “Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? No evil can 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 because of you shall Zion be ploughed as a field, And Jerusalem become heaps of stones, And the mountain of the temple like the heights of a forest.