Micah 3
Easy-to-Read Version
The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil
3 Then I said, “Listen, leaders of Jacob and officers of the nation[a] 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.[b]
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.[c]
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[d] overgrown with bushes.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:1 nation Literally, “house.” This might mean the royal family of that country.
- Micah 3:3 You are destroying my people Literally, “You who eat the flesh of my people.”
- Micah 3:10 murdering people Literally, “bloodshed.”
- Micah 3:12 empty hill Or “high place,” a term usually used for local shrines (places for worship) where people often worshiped idols.
Micah 3
New King James Version
Wicked Rulers and Prophets
3 And I said:
“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,
And you (A)rulers of the house of Israel:
(B)Is it not for you to know justice?
2 You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from [a]My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
3 Who also (C)eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
(D)Like flesh in the caldron.”
4 Then (E)they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.
5 Thus says the Lord (F)concerning the prophets
Who make my people stray;
Who chant [b]“Peace”
[c]While they (G)chew with their teeth,
But who prepare war against him
(H)Who puts nothing into their mouths:
6 “Therefore(I) you shall have night without [d]vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for (J)them.
7 So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
(K)For there is no answer from God.”
8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
And of justice and might,
(L)To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And [e]pervert all equity,
10 (M)Who build up Zion with (N)bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
11 (O)Her heads judge for a bribe,
(P)Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for [f]money.
(Q)Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be (R)plowed like a field,
(S)Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And (T)the mountain of the [g]temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:2 Lit. them
- Micah 3:5 All is well
- Micah 3:5 For those who feed them
- Micah 3:6 Prophetic revelation
- Micah 3:9 Lit. twist
- Micah 3:11 Lit. silver
- Micah 3:12 Lit. house
Micah 3
English Standard Version
Rulers and Prophets Denounced
3 And I said:
(A)Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
(B)Is it not for you to know justice?—
2 you (C)who hate the good and love the evil,
(D)who tear the skin from off my people[a]
and their flesh from off their bones,
3 (E)who eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
4 (F)Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
(G)he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning (H)the prophets
who lead my people astray,
(I)who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore (J)it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
(K)The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
7 (L)the seers shall be disgraced,
and the diviners put to shame;
(M)they shall all cover their lips,
for (N)there is no answer from God.
8 But as for me, (O)I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob (P)his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
9 (Q)Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
(R)who detest justice
and make crooked all that is straight,
10 (S)who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 (T)Its heads give judgment for a bribe;
(U)its priests teach for a price;
(V)its prophets practice divination for money;
(W)yet they lean on the Lord and (X)say,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
(Y)No disaster shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
(Z)Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem (AA)shall become a heap of ruins,
and (AB)the mountain of the house (AC)a wooded height.
Footnotes
- Micah 3:2 Hebrew from off them
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
