Text -- Micah 3:7-12 (NET)

3:7 The prophets will be ashamed; the omen readers will be humiliated. All of them will cover their mouths, for they will receive no divine oracles.” 3:8 But I am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin. 3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You hate justice and pervert all that is right. 3:10 You build Zion through bloody crimes, Jerusalem through unjust violence. 3:11 Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the Lord and say, “The Lord is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!” 3:12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the Temple Mount will become a hill overgrown with brush!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mic 3:7

¹ tn Or “seers.”

² tn Or “the mustache,” or perhaps “the beard.” Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “cover their lips.”

³ tn Heb “for there will be no answer from God.”

NET Notes: Mic 3:8

¹ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

² tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

³ tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

NET Notes: Mic 3:9

¹ tn Heb “house.”

² tn Heb “house.”

³ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

NET Notes: Mic 3:10

¹ tn Heb “who.”

² tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”

³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: Mic 3:11

¹ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

² tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

³ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

⁴ tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

⁵ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

NET Notes: Mic 3:12

¹ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

² tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

³ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”