Rulers and Prophets Denounced

Micah 3

1 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 1 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 2 "Peace"
3 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 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:27
    Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
  2. Cross References
    Psalms 82:1 - 5
    God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
    Jeremiah 5:4
    Therefore I said, "Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.
    Jeremiah 5:5
    I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God." But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds.
  3. Cross References
    Psalms 14:4
    Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the LORD?
    Psalms 27:2
    When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
    Zephaniah 3:3
    Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning.
  4. Cross References
    Ezekiel 11:3
    "who say, ' The time is not near to build houses; this city is the caldron, and we are the meat.'
    Ezekiel 11:6
    "You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain."
    Ezekiel 11:7
    Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; but I shall bring you out of the midst of it.
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 18:41
    They cried out, but there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
    Proverbs 1:28
    Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
    Isaiah 1:15
    When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
    Jeremiah 11:11
    Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 56:10
    His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
    Isaiah 56:11
    Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.
    Jeremiah 6:13
    Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely.
    Ezekiel 13:10
    Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace - and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar -
    Ezekiel 13:19
    "And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?"
  7. Cross References
    Matthew 7:15
    Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 13:18
    And say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive?
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 8:20 - 22
    To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
    Isaiah 29:10 - 12
    For the LORD has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:10
    For the LORD has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.
    Jeremiah 23:33 - 40
    So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, 'What is the oracle of the LORD?' you shall then say to them, 'What oracle?' I will even forsake you," says the LORD.
    Ezekiel 13:23
    "Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD." '"
  11. Cross References
    Amos 8:11
    Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:1
    Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:13
    Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor's service without wages And gives him nothing for his work.
    Jeremiah 22:17
    "Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence."
  14. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:27
    Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
    Habakkuk 2:12
    Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, Who establishes a city by iniquity!
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:23
    Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
    Micah 7:3
    That they may successfully do evil with both hands - The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:13
    Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely.
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 48:2
    For they call themselves after the holy city, And lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name:
    Jeremiah 7:4
    "Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.'
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 26:18
    "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest."'
  19. Cross References
    Psalms 79:1
    O GOD, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
    Jeremiah 9:11
    "I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant."
  20. Cross References
    Micah 4:1
    Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it.
    Micah 4:2
    Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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