Micah 3

1 And I say, 'Hear, I pray you, heads of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment?

I said, “Now listen, you leaders of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not right for you to understand justice?

2 Ye who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,

You who hate good and love evil, you who tear off their skin, their flesh from their bones—

3 And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stript, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread [them] out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a caldron.

you who also eat the flesh of my people, and tear their skin off, break their bones, and chop them in pieces, just like meat for a pot, just like meat in a cauldron.

4 Then do they cry unto Jehovah, And He doth not answer them, And hideth His face from them at that time, As they have made evil their doings.

Then you rulers will cry out to Yahweh, but he will not answer you. He will hide his face from you at that time, because you have done evil deeds.”

5 Thus said Jehovah concerning the prophets Who are causing My people to err, Who are biting with their teeth, And have cried 'Peace,' And he who doth not give unto their mouth, They have sanctified against him war.

Yahweh says this, “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one gives them something to eat, they proclaim, 'Peace.' But if he puts nothing in their mouths, they dedicate themselves to wage war on him.

6 Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.

Therefore, it will be night for you with no vision for you; it will be dark so that you will do no divination. The sun will go down on the prophets, and the day will be dark on them.

7 And ashamed have been the seers, And confounded have been the diviners, And covered their lip have all of them, For their is no answer, O God.

The seers will be put to shame, and the diviners will be confused. All of them will cover their lips, for there is no answer from me.”

8 And yet I have been full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, And of judgment, and of might, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.

But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Yahweh, and am full of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, I pray you, heads of the house of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Who are making judgment abominable, And all uprightness do pervert.

Now listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, you who detest justice, and pervert everything right.

10 Building up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.

You build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 Her heads for a bribe do judge, And her priests for hire do teach, And her prophets for silver divine, And on Jehovah they lean, saying, 'Is not Jehovah in our midst? Evil doth not come in upon us.'

Your leaders judge for a bribe, your priests teach for a price, and your prophets do divination for money. Yet you rely on Yahweh and say, “Is not Yahweh with us? No evil will come on us.”

12 Therefore, for your sake, Zion is ploughed a field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mount of the house [is] for high places of a forest!

Therefore, because of you, Zion will become a plowed field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the hill of the temple will become a thicket.