Micah 3
1 And I say, “Now hear, O heads of Jacob, And you judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment?
And I said, Give ear, now, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the people of Israel: is it not for you to have knowledge of what is right?
2 You who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,
You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones;
3 And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stripped, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread [them] out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a cauldron.”
Like meat they take the flesh of my people for their food, skinning them and crushing their bones, yes, cutting them up as if for the pot, like flesh inside the cooking-pot.
4 Then they cry to YHWH, And He does not answer them, And hides His face from them at that time, As they have made evil their doings.
Then they will be crying to the Lord for help, but he will not give them an answer: yes, he will keep his face veiled from them at that time, because their acts have been evil.
5 Thus said YHWH concerning the prophets Who are causing My people to err, Who are biting with their teeth, And have cried “Peace,” And he who does not give to their mouth, They have sanctified against him war:
This is what the Lord has said about the prophets by whom my people have been turned from the right way; who, biting with their teeth, say, Peace; and if anyone puts nothing in their mouths they make ready for war against him.
6 “Therefore you have a night without vision, And you have darkness without divination, And the sun has gone in on the prophets, And the day has been black over them.
For this cause it will be night for you, without a vision; and it will be dark for you, without knowledge of the future; the sun will go down over the prophets, and the day will be black over them.
7 And the seers have been ashamed, And the diviners have been confounded, And all of them have covered their lip, For there is no answer, O God.”
And the seers will be shamed, and the readers of the future will be at a loss, all of them covering their lips; for there is no answer from God.
8 And yet I have been full of power by the Spirit of YHWH, And of judgment, and of might, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.
But I truly am full of the spirit of the Lord, with power of judging and with strength to make clear to Jacob his wrongdoing and to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this, O heads of the house of Jacob, And you judges of the house of Israel, Who are making judgment abominable, And pervert all uprightness.
Then give ear to this, you heads of the children of Jacob, you rulers of the children of Israel, hating what is right, twisting what is straight.
10 Building up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.
They are building up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with evil-doing.
11 Her heads judge for a bribe, And her priests teach for hire, And her prophets divine for silver, And on YHWH they lean, saying, “Is not YHWH in our midst? Evil does not come in on us.”
Its heads take rewards for judging, and the priests take payment for teaching, and the prophets get silver for reading the future: but still, supporting themselves on the Lord, they say, Is not the Lord among us? no evil will overtake us.
12 Therefore, for your sake, Zion is plowed a field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mountain of the house [is] for high places of a forest!
For this reason, Zion will be ploughed like a field because of you, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like a high place in the woods.
