Micah 3

1 And I said, Ye princes of Jacob, and dukes of the house of Israel, hear. Whether it is not yours for to know doom, (And I said, Ye leaders of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, listen. Is it not for you to know what is right, or to do what is just,)

2 which hate good, and love evil? Which violently take away the skins of them from above them, and the flesh of them from above the bones of them. (ye who hate good, and love evil? Who violently take away their very skin, and their flesh from off their bones.)

3 Which ate the flesh of my people, and (un)covered, [or flayed (off),] the skin of them from above; and brake together the bones of them, and cutted (them up) together as in a cauldron, and as flesh in the middle of a pot. (Who eat the flesh of my people, and uncover, or flay off, their skin; and altogether break their bones, and altogether cut them up, as if to put them into a cauldron, yea, like meat in the middle of a pot.)

4 Then they shall cry to the Lord, and he shall not hear them; and he shall hide his face from them in that time, as they did wickedly in their findings. (Then they shall cry to the Lord, but he shall not hear them; and he shall hide his face from them at that time, for they did wickedly in their deeds.)

5 The Lord saith these things on the prophets that deceive my people, that bite with their teeth, and preach peace; and if any man giveth not in the mouth of them anything, they hallow battle on him. (The Lord saith these things about the prophets who deceive my people, who bite with their teeth, and preach peace; and if anyone will not put something into their mouths, or into their pockets, they proclaim battle against them.)

6 Therefore night shall be to you for vision, or prophecy, and darknesses to you for divination; and the sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be made dark on them.

7 And they shall be confounded that see visions, and diviners shall be confounded, and all shall cover their cheers, for it is not the answer of God. (And they who see visions shall be shamed, and diviners shall be shamed, and all of them shall cover their faces, for it is not the answer of God.)

8 Nevertheless I am filled with (the) strength of the Spirit of the Lord, and with doom and power (and with judgement and with power), (so) that I show to Jacob his great trespass, and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear these things, ye princes of the house of Jacob, and doomsmen of the house of Israel, which loathe doom, and pervert all right things; (Hear these things, ye leaders of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, who hate justice, and pervert, or warp, every good, or right, thing;)

10 which build Zion in bloods, and Jerusalem in wickedness. (who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.)

11 The princes thereof deemed for gifts, and [the] priests thereof taught for hire, and the prophets thereof divined for money; and on the Lord they rested, and said, Whether the Lord is not in the middle of us? evils shall not come (up)on us. (Its leaders judged, or governed, for bribes, and its priests taught for pay, and its prophets divined for money; and yet they rested, or relied, upon the Lord, and said, Is not the Lord here in the midst of us? yea, evil shall not come upon us.)

12 For this thing because of you, Zion as a field shall be eared; and Jerusalem shall be as an heap of stones, and the hill of the temple shall be into high things of woods. (For this thing, because of you, Zion shall be plowed under like a field, and Jerusalem shall become a heap of stones, and the Temple mount shall become the high place of a forest.)

Micah 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

The cruelty of the princes, and the falsehood of the prophets. (1-8) Their false security. (9-12)

Verses 1-8 Men cannot expect to do ill, and fare well; but to find that done to them which they did to others. How seldom do wholesome truths reach the ears of those in high stations or in authority! Those who deceive others are preparing confusion for their own faces. The prophet had ardent love to God and to the souls of men; deep concern for his glory and their salvation, and zeal against sin. The difficulties he met with did not drive him from his work. He had this strength; not from and of himself, but he was full of power by the Spirit of the Lord. Those who act honestly, may act boldly. And those who come to hear the word of God, must be willing to be told of their faults, must take it kindly, and be thankful.

Verses 9-12 Zion's walls owe no thanks to those that build them up with blood and iniquity. The sin of man works not the righteousness of God. Even when men do that which in itself is good, but do it for filthy lucre, it becomes abomination both to God and man. Faith rests in the Lord as the soul's foundation: presumption only leans upon the Lord as a prop, and would use him to serve a turn. If men's having the Lord among them will not keep them from doing evil, it never can secure them from suffering evil for so doing. See the doom of wicked Jacob; Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field. This was exactly fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and is so at this day. If sacred places are polluted by sin, they will be wasted and ruined by the judgments of God.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 3

In this chapter the prophet reproves and threatens both princes and prophets, first separately, and then conjunctly; first the heads and princes of the people, civil magistrates, for their ignorance of justice, and hatred of good, and love of evil, and for their oppression and cruelty; and they are threatened with distress when they should cry unto the Lord, and should not be heard by him, Mic 3:1-4; next the prophets are taken to task, for their voraciousness, avarice, and false prophesying; and are threatened with darkness, with want of vision, and of an answer from the Lord, and with shame and confusion, Mic 3:5-7; and the prophet being full of the Spirit and power of God, to declare the sins and transgressions of Jacob and Israel, Mic 3:8, very freely declaims against princes, priests, and prophets, all together; who, though guilty of very notorious crimes, yet were in great security, and promised themselves impunity, Mic 3:9-11; wherefore the city and temple of Jerusalem are threatened with an utter desolation, Mic 3:12.