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Micah 3-4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Micah 3-4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Wicked Rulers and Prophets
3 And I said:
Listen, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Should you not know justice?—(A)
2 you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people[a]
and the flesh off their bones,(B)
3 who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat[b] in a kettle,
like flesh in a caldron.(C)
4 Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time
because they have acted wickedly.(D)
5 Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat
but declare war against those
who put nothing into their mouths.(E)
6 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without revelation.
The sun shall go down upon the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;(F)
7 the seers shall be disgraced
and the diviners put to shame;
they shall all cover their lips,
for there is no answer from God.(G)
8 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.(H)
9 Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,(I)
10 who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!(J)
11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe;
its priests teach for a price;
its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
“Surely the Lord is with us!
No harm shall come upon us.”(K)
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the temple a wooded height.(L)
Peace and Security through Obedience
4 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s temple
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised up above the hills.
Peoples shall stream to it,(M)
2 and many nations shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(N)
3 He shall judge between many peoples
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more;(O)
4 but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.(P)
5 For all the peoples walk,
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
forever and ever.(Q)
Restoration Promised after Exile
6 On that day, says the Lord,
I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
and those whom I have afflicted.(R)
7 The lame I will make the remnant,
and those who were cast off, a strong nation,
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
now and forevermore.(S)
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
hill of daughter Zion,
to you it shall come,
the former dominion shall come,
the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem.(T)
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished,
that pangs have seized you like a woman in labor?(U)
10 Writhe and groan,[c] O daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you shall go forth from the city
and camp in the open country;
you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
there the Lord will redeem you
from the hands of your enemies.(V)
11 Now many nations
are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be profaned,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”(W)
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.(X)
13 Arise and thresh,
O daughter Zion,
for I will make your horn iron
and your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples
and shall[d] devote their gain to the Lord,
their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.(Y)
Micah 3-4
New International Version
Micah 3-4
New International Version
Leaders and Prophets Rebuked
3 Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders(A) of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;(B)
3 who eat my people’s flesh,(C)
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;(D)
who chop(E) them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?(F)”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.(G)
At that time he will hide his face(H) from them
because of the evil they have done.(I)
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,(J)
they proclaim ‘peace’(K)
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.(L)
The sun will set for the prophets,(M)
and the day will go dark for them.(N)
7 The seers will be ashamed(O)
and the diviners disgraced.(P)
They will all cover(Q) their faces(R)
because there is no answer from God.(S)”
8 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,
to Israel his sin.(T)
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;(U)
10 who build(V) Zion with bloodshed,(W)
and Jerusalem with wickedness.(X)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(Y)
her priests teach for a price,(Z)
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(AA)
Yet they look(AB) for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”(AC)
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(AD)
the temple(AE) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(AF)
The Mountain of the Lord(AG)
4 In the last days
the mountain(AH) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(AI)
and peoples will stream to it.(AJ)
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(AK)
to the temple of the God of Jacob.(AL)
He will teach us(AM) his ways,(AN)
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(AO) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(AP)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(AQ)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war(AR) anymore.(AS)
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,(AT)
and no one will make them afraid,(AU)
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.(AV)
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,(AW)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.(AX)
The Lord’s Plan
6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame;(AY)
I will assemble the exiles(AZ)
and those I have brought to grief.(BA)
7 I will make the lame my remnant,(BB)
those driven away a strong nation.(BC)
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion(BD)
from that day and forever.(BE)
8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored(BF) to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.(BG)”
9 Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king[b](BH)?
Has your ruler[c] perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?(BI)
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;(BJ)
there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem(BK) you
out of the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat(BL) over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,(BM)
that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Rise and thresh,(BN) Daughter Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
and you will break to pieces many nations.”(BO)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord,(BP)
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.