Micah3
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?
2ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
3who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
4Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
5Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that make my people to err; that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him:
6Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.
7And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
8But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
9Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity.
10They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
12Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Micah 3.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The cruelty of the princes, and the falsehood of the prophets. (1–8). Their false security. (9–12).
vv1-8
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.
vv9-12
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.
Key Words
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
רֹאשׁ: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
יַעֲקֹב: Jaakob, the Israelitish patriarch
קָצִין: a magistrate (as deciding) or other leader
בַּיִת: a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
יָדַע: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
מִשְׁפָּט: properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style
Cross References
Micah 3Directly quotes Micah 3:12, saving Jeremiah's life by proving prophets of old foretold Jerusalem's ruin.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallels the animalistic imagery of princes ravaging the people like wolves tearing prey.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Strikingly similar condemnation of Jerusalem's princes as roaring lions and evening wolves gnawing bones.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Uses the same vivid culinary/judgment metaphor of flesh and bones in a boiling caldron.
Supported by JFB
Identical prophetic mandate to declare to Jacob his transgression and Israel his sin.
Supported by JFB
Echoes building a town with blood and establishing a city by iniquity.
Supported by JFB
Condemns building grand palaces through unrighteousness, oppression, and shedding innocent blood.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts the ignorance of the poor with leaders who ought to know the way of judgment.
Supported by JFB
Prophesies a day when false prophets will be ashamed of their deceptive visions.
Supported by JFB
Explains covering the upper lip as an ancient ritual sign of deep shame and sorrow.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the Spirit-given power, love, and bold moral courage contrasted with fear.
Supported by JFB
Exposes those who presumptuously claim the Lord's name while living in absolute rebellion.
Supported by JFB
Rebukes superstitious trust in the Temple of the Lord as a shield against judgment.
Supported by JFB
Micah's recurring condemnation of princes and judges demanding bribes and rewards.
Supported by JFB
Poetically describes oppressive rulers whose teeth are swords devouring the poor.
Supported by JFB