Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹  those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ²  As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ³  because they have the power to do so.

If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹  ‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ²  he would be just the right preacher for these people! ³ 

In the future ¹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ²  it will be more prominent than other hills. ³  People will stream to it.

“In that day,” says the Lord, “I will destroy ¹  your horses from your midst, and smash your chariots.

In that day people will sing this taunt song to you – they will mock you with this lament: ¹  ‘We are completely destroyed; they sell off ²  the property of my people. How they remove it from me! ³  They assign our fields to the conqueror.’ ⁴ 

For this reason I ¹  will mourn and wail; I will walk around barefoot ²  and without my outer garments. ³  I will howl ⁴  like a wild dog, ⁵  and screech ⁶  like an owl. ⁷ 

‘Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,’ they say excitedly. ¹  ‘These prophets should not preach of such things; we will not be overtaken by humiliation.’ ² 

This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹  Micah of Moresheth. He delivered this message ²  during the reigns of ³  Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The prophecies pertain to ⁴  Samaria ⁵  and Jerusalem. ⁶ 

This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people are as good as dead. ¹  If someone gives them enough to eat, they offer an oracle of peace. ²  But if someone does not give them food, they are ready to declare war on him. ³ 

My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, ¹  how Balaam son of Beor responded to him. Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal, so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” ² 

They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹  government officials and judges take bribes, ²  prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ³ 

Many nations will come, saying, “Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the temple ¹  of Jacob’s God, so he can teach us his commands ²  and we can live by his laws.” ³  For Zion will be the source of instruction; the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. ⁴