3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against 6 you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up 7 from the land of Egypt:
3:8 A lion has roared! 8 Who is not afraid?
The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? 9
3:8 But I 10 am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,
and have a strong commitment to justice. 11
This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,
and Israel with its sin. 12
3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family 13 of Jacob,
you rulers of the nation 14 of Israel!
You 15 hate justice
and pervert all that is right.
3:10 You 16 build Zion through bloody crimes, 17
Jerusalem 18 through unjust violence.
3:11 Her 19 leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, 20
her priests proclaim rulings for profit,
and her prophets read omens for pay.
Yet they claim to trust 21 the Lord and say,
“The Lord is among us. 22
Disaster will not overtake 23 us!”
3:12 Therefore, because of you, 24 Zion will be plowed up like 25 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 26 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 27
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “and fall.”
3 tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
5 tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the
6 tn Or “about.”
7 tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the
8 sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.
9 sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.
10 sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the
11 tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the
12 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.
13 tn Heb “house.”
14 tn Heb “house.”
15 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).
16 tn Heb “who.”
17 tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”
18 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
19 sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).
20 tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”
21 tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”
22 tn Heb “Is not the
23 tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”
24 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
25 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
26 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
27 tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”