Micah
Chapter 3
Second Denunciation
Then I said: “You rulers of the house of Israel, isn’t it your duty to know what is right?”
Yet, you hate good and love evil; you tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones.
Those who eat my people’s flesh and break their bones to pieces, who chop them up like meat for the pan and share them like flesh for the pot,
when they cry, the Lord will not answer. He will turn his face away from them because of their evil deeds.”
The Prophets and the Prophet
This is what the Lord says about the prophets who lead my people astray:“You cry ‘Peace’ when you have something to eat, but to anyone with nothing for your mouths, it is ‘War’ that you declare.
So night will fall upon you, without vision; and darkness, without insight. The sun will set for the prophets,and the day will be shrouded in darkness for them.
Then the seers will be humiliated, and the diviners will be put to shame. They will all hide their faces because no answer will come from God.
But as for me, I am filled with strength, empowered by the spirit of the Lord, and driven by justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgressions and to Israel his sins.
Denunciation and Sentence
Listen up, leaders of Jacob’s nation, rulers of Israel’s house, you who scorn justice and distort what is right,
you who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with violence.
Her leaders accept bribes, her priests prophesy for money; yet they trust in the Lord and say; ‘Is the Lord not in our midst? No harm will come to us.’
Therefore, because of you, Zion will become a field; Jerusalem will be a heap of ruins, and the temple mount, a forest with sacred stones.”
Commentaries
Second Denunciation.
Those who should fight for justice and protect the most vulnerable are often the ones who exploit them. Corruption is so widespread that the prophet describes the political leaders of Israel, who also serve as judges, as cannibals. Therefore, when calamity hits, the Lord will not aid them.
The Prophets and the Prophet.
False prophets are mercenaries. Those who have the ministry of the word distort it to serve their own interests and confuse the people, leading them astray from the way of the Lord. This is what the prophet describes as sin: taking the wrong path instead of “walking humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). In this hostile environment to the truth, the true prophet receives his strength and wisdom from the Lord to denounce the sin of the people (8); the truth, even if it hurts, is the only way to bring about conversion and restoration for Israel.
Denunciation and Sentence.
The prophet’s warning is direct: the leaders of Israel, including kings, princes, priests, and false prophets, sacrifice the people for personal gain and to maintain their power. The sin of these leaders who misuse their authority and even the word of the Lord to control and deceive the people will lead to the complete destruction of the holy city and its temple (cf. Ez 10:18-22).