Micah 3

And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

1Then I said, "Listen, leaders of Jacob. Listen, rulers of Israel. You are the very ones who should know what is fair.

Note"Judgment" in the old wording means justice. It is knowing and doing what is fair.

2Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

2You hate what is good, and you love what is evil. You tear the skin off my people. You pull the meat from their bones.

3Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

3You eat my people up. You strip off their skin and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for a cooking pot."

4Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

4Then those leaders will cry out to the LORD for help. But he will not answer them. He will turn his face away from them, because of the evil they did.

5Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

5Here is what the LORD says about the prophets who lead his people the wrong way. A prophet is someone who says he speaks for God. When these prophets are fed, they say, "All is well." When someone gives them no food, they get ready to fight him.

6Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.

6"So night will come over you, and you will see no visions. Darkness will come, and you will learn nothing about days ahead. The sun will go down on these prophets. Their daylight will turn black.

7Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

7Then the men who claim to see visions will be ashamed. The men who claim to tell the future will be shamed too. They will all cover their mouths, because God gives no answer."

8But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

8But I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD. I am filled with justice and courage. So I can tell Jacob and Israel plainly what they have done wrong.

9Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

9Now listen to this, leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel. You hate what is fair. You twist everything that is right.

10They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

10You build the city of Zion by killing people. You build Jerusalem by doing wrong.

11The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.

11Her leaders decide cases for secret money. Her priests, the men who taught God's law, teach only for pay. Her prophets tell the future only for money. Yet they lean on the LORD and say, "The LORD is with us. Nothing bad can happen to us."

Note"Reward" here means a bribe. That is money paid in secret to get the answer you want.

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 the forest.

12So because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field. Jerusalem will become a pile of broken stones. The hill where God's house stands will grow wild with trees.

Note"The mountain of the house" is the hill in Jerusalem where the temple, God's house, stood.