Condemnation of Corrupt Leaders and Prophets
Micah 3:1-12
Mic.3.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- נא: PART
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וקציני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הלוא: PART
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לדעת: VERB,qal,inf,-,-,-
- את: PRT,acc
- המשפט: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:10 (verbal): Both open with an imperative 'Hear' addressed to rulers/leaders ('rulers of Sodom' / 'heads of Jacob'), calling the leadership to account.
- Deuteronomy 16:18-20 (structural): Legal injunction to appoint judges and pursue justice — the institutional duty Micah invokes when addressing leaders to 'know' justice.
- Jeremiah 23:1 (thematic): Prophetic denunciation of leaders (shepherds/pastors) who fail the people — a common prophetic theme of rebuking Israel's rulers for injustice.
- Ezekiel 34:2-4 (thematic): Condemns shepherds (leaders) who feed themselves instead of the flock; parallels Micah's critique of leaders' failure to administer justice and care for the people.
- Amos 5:7 (thematic): Accuses the nation of turning justice into 'wormwood' and oppressing the righteous — echoes Micah's charge that leaders are failing in judgment and justice.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear now, heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not your business to know justice?
- Hear now, chiefs of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not yours to know justice?
Mic.3.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שנאי: NOUN,m,pl,poss1
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ואהבי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- גזלי: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- עורם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,pl
- מעליהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ושארם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,pl
- מעל: PREP
- עצמותם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:20-23 (verbal): Condemns moral inversion and corrupted leaders who ‘call evil good’ and accept bribes—close verbal/thematic kin to ‘hate the good and love the evil’ and exploiting people for gain.
- Amos 5:11 (thematic): Accuses the powerful of trampling and exacting from the poor (building luxury from others’ oppression), paralleling Micah’s charge that leaders strip and devour the vulnerable.
- Ezekiel 34:2-4 (allusion): Prophetic denunciation of shepherds/leaders who feed themselves and neglect or ravage the flock—thematised critique of rulers who ‘tear skins’ and prey on the people.
- Psalm 10:3-8 (thematic): Describes the arrogant oppressor who lurks to seize the poor and boasts of his violence—echoes Micah’s imagery of violent exploitation and cruelty toward the needy.
Alternative generated candidates
- You who hate good and love evil, who tear the skin from off them and strip the flesh from their bones;
- You who hate good and love evil, who strip the skin from off them and the flesh from their bones.
Mic.3.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- אכלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שאר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ועורם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- מעליהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- הפשיטו: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- עצמתיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
- פצחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ופרשו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כאשר: CONJ
- בסיר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכבשר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בתוך: PREP
- קלחת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 22:27 (thematic): Condemns princes and leaders who 'tear the prey' and shed blood—parallel theme of rulers devouring and exploiting the people.
- Isaiah 3:15 (thematic): Accuses leaders of devouring the vineyard and taking the spoil of the poor—similar charge of oppressive officials consuming the people’s welfare.
- Amos 2:6–7 (thematic): Speaks of selling the righteous and trampling the needy—another prophetic indictment of social injustice and exploitation by those in power.
- Lamentations 4:10 (verbal): Uses grotesque culinary imagery (women boiling their children) and a cauldron motif resonant with Mic 3:3’s 'as in a pot' cooking/tearing image to convey devastating violence.
- Jeremiah 5:26–28 (thematic): Describes a greedy, corrupt people and leaders 'fat and sleek' who do not plead for the needy—parallels Micah’s rebuke of officials who prey on the poor.
Alternative generated candidates
- who eat the flesh of my people and strip off their skin, who flay them and break their bones and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron.
- Who eat the flesh of my people and strip their skin from them; they break their bones and cut them in pieces, like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron.
Mic.3.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אז: ADV
- יזעקו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יענה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- ויסתר: VERB,hitp,impf,3,m,sg
- פניו: NOUN,m,pl,cons+3,m,sg
- מהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- הרעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מעלליהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:2 (verbal): Explicitly links sin with God 'hiding his face' (חָשָׂךְ פָּנָיו) — the same causal motif: their wrongdoing causes divine concealment and non-response.
- Proverbs 1:24-28 (verbal): Parallel scenario and language: a warning that when people spurn God's call they will later 'call' or 'cry' and God 'will not answer' — the consequence of persistent wickedness.
- Hosea 5:6 (thematic): Describes people seeking the LORD but finding that he has withdrawn/withheld himself — similar outcome of divine absence because of the people's sins.
- Lamentations 3:8 (thematic): Uses the image of crying out while God 'shuts out' or hides his ear/answering — echoes the experience of unanswered cries due to judgment or divine distancing.
- Ezekiel 39:29 (structural): Offers a complementary/contrastive motif: where Micah warns that God will hide his face, Ezekiel later promises he will 'no longer hide his face' — useful for theological contrast on divine concealment and restoration.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time because of the evil of their deeds.
- Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because of the evil of their deeds.
Mic.3.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- המתעים: VERB,pi'el,ptc,m,pl,def
- את: PRT,acc
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- הנשכים: VERB,qal,ptc,m,pl,def
- בשניהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- וקראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- פיהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- וקדשו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- מלחמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 6:13-14 (verbal): Close verbal and thematic parallel: prophets and leaders ‘heal the hurt of my people lightly,’ saying ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace—condemning false assurances like Mic 3:5.
- Jeremiah 23:16-17 (thematic): Condemns prophets who speak visions of their own heart and tell the people ‘Peace’ when there is no peace—directly parallels Micah’s critique of deceptive prophets.
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (allusion): Ezekiel attacks ‘false prophets’ who see false visions and lead the people astray; like Micah, Ezekiel portrays these prophets as producing ruin rather than true guidance.
- Zechariah 10:2 (thematic): Speaks of diviners and prophets who tell lies and give empty comfort—echoes Micah’s denunciation of prophetic deception and false assurances.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray: “Those who bite with their teeth and cry ‘Peace!’ and, if nothing is put into their mouths, set up war against him.”
- Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray: Those who bite with their teeth and cry, “Peace!”—and if one does not put something into their mouths, they prepare war against him.
Mic.3.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- לילה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מחזון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחשכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מקסם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- על: PREP
- הנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וקדר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 8:19-22 (thematic): Both speak of absence of true revelation and pervasive darkness — 'there is no light' / distress and gloom — echoing Micah’s 'night for you... the sun has gone down on the prophets.'
- Zephaniah 1:15 (thematic): Uses similar imagery of a coming 'day of darkness and gloom' as divine judgment; parallels Micah’s picture of prophetic failure met by darkness rather than vision.
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (verbal): Condemns false prophets who give 'false visions' and 'lying divinations,' closely paralleling Micah’s denunciation that true vision/divination will be removed from the prophets.
- Jeremiah 23:25-32 (thematic): Jeremiah condemns prophets who utter false visions and lead people astray; like Micah, he contrasts claimed prophetic speech with divine judgment and the resulting loss of true guidance.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore night to you who dream, and darkness to you who practice divination; the sun goes down on the prophets, and the day grows dark for them.
- Therefore for you there will be night for vision and darkness for divination; the sun will set over the prophets, and the day will be dark for them.
Mic.3.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- החזים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וחפרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הקסמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ועטו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- שפם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כלם: PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- מענה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- 1 Sam. 28:6 (verbal): God does not answer Saul by dreams, Urim, or prophets—paralleling Micah’s claim that seers/diviners are put to shame because there is 'no answer from God.'
- Jer. 23:16-22 (thematic): Jeremiah condemns false prophets who speak from their own heart and declares God did not send them—echoing Micah’s exposure and disgrace of unreliable seers.
- Ezek. 13:6-9 (thematic): Ezekiel denounces those who prophesy out of their own imagination and promises their words will be disgraced—similar to Micah’s image of diviners ashamed and silenced.
- Zech. 10:2 (verbal): Zechariah accuses diviners and teraphim of giving vain visions and false comfort, matching Micah’s critique of diviners whose messages lack God’s answer.
- Isa. 8:19-20 (thematic): Isaiah warns against seeking mediums and urges inquiry of God’s word (law and testimony), implying prophets/diviners who speak apart from God are invalid—resonant with Micah’s 'no answer from God.'
Alternative generated candidates
- And the seers shall be ashamed, the diviners confounded; they shall all cover their mouths, for there is no answer from God.
- The seers shall be ashamed, the diviners confounded; they shall all cover their faces, for there is no answer from God.
Mic.3.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואולם: CONJ
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מלאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- כח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ומשפט: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וגבורה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- להגיד: INF,hiph
- ליעקב: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg
- פשעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ולישראל: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חטאתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRSFX,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 2:2 (verbal): The Spirit enters/comes upon the prophet so that he can stand and hear/speak—parallels Micah’s being filled with the Spirit to proclaim judgment.
- Isaiah 61:1 (verbal): “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me”—both texts link the Spirit’s presence with a prophetic mission to proclaim justice and God’s word.
- Zechariah 4:6 (thematic): “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit” echoes the idea that prophetic authority and the work of justice come from the Spirit rather than human ability.
- Numbers 11:25 (structural): Elders receiving the Spirit and then prophesying—a comparable pattern of Spirit-bestowal enabling public proclamation (here, often of God’s word or judgment).
- Acts 4:8 (allusion): Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks boldly to accuse/defend God’s truth—NT example of Spirit-filled proclamation paralleling Micah’s commission to declare Israel’s sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
- But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
Mic.3.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- נא: PART
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וקציני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המתעבים: PTCP,qal,pres,-,m,pl,def
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- כל: DET
- הישרה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יעקשו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 82:2 (verbal): Accuses leaders of judging unjustly—echoes Micah’s charge against the ‘heads’/rulers who pervert justice.
- Isaiah 1:23 (thematic): Condemns rulers who take bribes, fail to defend the orphan and widow, and thus betray justice—parallels Micah’s rebuke of Israel’s leaders.
- Amos 5:7 (verbal): Speaks of turning justice into bitterness/wormwood and hating the good—language and theme closely parallel Micah’s charge about abhorring justice and perverting equity.
- Ezekiel 22:6-12 (thematic): Lists the city’s and leaders’ crimes—bribery, oppression, perversion of justice—comparable to Micah’s indictment of princes who corrupt law and equity.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who hate justice and pervert all that is straight.
- Hear this now, chiefs of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, you who abhor justice and pervert all uprightness.
Mic.3.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בנה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,3,f,sg
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- בדמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וירושלם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בעולה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jer. 22:13 (verbal): Condemns building houses by unrighteousness—language and accusation closely parallel Micah’s charge that Zion/Jerusalem are built by injustice.
- Jer. 7:8-11 (thematic): Jeremiah rebukes those who trust in the temple while practicing theft, murder, and injustice—echoes Micah’s theme of a city upheld by wickedness.
- Ezek. 22:6-7 (verbal): Accuses Jerusalem’s leaders of taking bribes and shedding blood; similar imagery of the city’s guilt grounded in bloodshed and corruption.
- Isa. 59:3-8 (thematic): Isaiah depicts hands defiled with blood and a society of injustice and deceit—thematisms that correspond to Micah’s indictment of Zion built with blood.
- Mic. 2:1-2 (structural): Within Micah’s own book: earlier denunciation of leaders/devourers who plot evil and seize land anticipates the specific charge in 3:10 about building by violence.
Alternative generated candidates
- They build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with wrongdoing.
- They build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wrongdoing.
Mic.3.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ראשיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בשחד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישפטו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- וכהניה: NOUN,m,pl,suff-3ms,pref-v
- במחיר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יורו: VERB,hiphil,impf,3,m,pl
- ונביאיה: CONJ
- בכסף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יקסמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ישענו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- הלוא: PART
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בקרבנו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg+PRON,1,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עלינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 6:13-14 (verbal): Accuses prophets and priests of dishonesty and offering false assurances—'from the prophet to the priest everyone deals falsely' and 'they heal the wound of my people lightly, saying ‘Peace, peace’' parallels Micah's charge of corrupt leaders and prophets who nevertheless claim the LORD is with them.
- Amos 5:12 (verbal): Speaks of officials 'taking bribes' and perverting justice—directly parallels Micah's 'its leaders judge for a bribe' and the theme of judicial corruption.
- Ezekiel 22:12 (thematic): Denounces taking bribes and profiting by wrongdoing and declares that they have 'forgotten me'—echoes Micah's indictment of bribery among leaders and the priestly/prophetic classes who rely on the LORD while practicing corruption.
- Jeremiah 5:30-31 (verbal): States that 'the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction' and that the people prefer such messages—parallels Micah's criticism of false prophets/priests and the complacent reliance on God’s presence despite moral failure.
Alternative generated candidates
- Her leaders judge for bribes, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No harm shall come upon us.”
- Its leaders judge for a bribe, its priests teach for pay, its prophets divine for money; yet they rely on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No evil shall come upon us.”
Mic.3.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- בגללכם: PREP+NOUN+PRON,2,pl
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- שדה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחרש: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- וירושלם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עיין: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- והר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבית: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לבמות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יער: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 26:18 (quotation): Jeremiah cites Micah’s prophecy almost verbatim, repeating the image that Zion will be plowed like a field and Jerusalem become heaps (direct quotation of Mic. 3:12).
- Jeremiah 9:11 (verbal): Uses very similar wording—God declares he will make Jerusalem a heap/produce it as a ruin and render the cities of Judah desolate (close verbal and thematic parallel).
- Isaiah 64:10 (thematic): Speaks of Zion and Jerusalem as a wilderness/desolation—same theme of holy-city devastation as divine judgment for sin.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19–21 (structural): Narrative account of Jerusalem’s destruction and exile, presenting the historical fulfillment of prophetic warnings that the city would become desolate and its sacred sites destroyed.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the hill of the house a wooded height.
- Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house like the bare heights of a forest.
Hear now, heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel—ought you not to know justice?
You who hate good and love evil; you plunder the skin from off them and strip the flesh from their bones.
They eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin, break their bones, and cut them up like meat in a pot, like flesh within a cauldron.
Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because of the evil of their deeds. Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who mislead my people: they bite with their teeth and shout, “Peace!”—and if anyone will not put that word in their mouths, they prepare war against him.
Therefore for you there will be night for visions and darkness for divination; the sun will set for the prophets, and the day will grow dark for them.
Then the seers will be ashamed, the diviners disgraced; they will all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
Hear this, heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is upright.
You build Zion with blood, and Jerusalem by iniquity.
Its rulers judge for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, and its prophets divine for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.”
Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the hill of the house shall be like the high places of a forest.