MIC 3:11 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–12: Micah rebuked the leaders of Israel

In this section, Micah is the speaker. He spoke to the leaders of the Jews and to the prophets. He rebuked (scolded) them for their wicked deeds. He also told them that God would punish the nation because of them.

The Notes will divide this section into three paragraphs:

In 3:1–4, Micah rebuked the judicial leaders.
In 3:5–8, Micah rebuked the wicked prophets.
In 3:9–12, Micah rebuked all the leaders: judges, prophets, and priests.

In each paragraph, Micah used the word “justice” (3:1, 8, 9). In each paragraph, he first rebuked the leaders for their evil deeds. Then he described what would happen as a result of their wickedness. Some versions begin a new paragraph at verse 4 or verse 8. It is recommended that you follow the paragraphs used in the Notes.

Here are some other examples of section headings:

Micah Denounces Israel’s Leaders (GNT)

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked (NIV)

Israel’s Sinful Leaders—Rulers, Prophets, and Priests (GW)

Wicked Rulers and Prophets (NRSV)

Paragraph 3:9–12

This paragraph is similar to 3:1–4. Micah again spoke to the leaders of Israel. He specifically included the judicial leaders (verse 9a–b, 11a), priests (verse 11b), and prophets (verse 11c). He told them to listen (verse 9a). He then accused them of behaving wickedly and described the sins of each group (verses 9b–11). Finally, he told them that God would destroy Jerusalem, including the area where the temple was located (verse 12).

3:11

In verses 9 and 10, Micah spoke to the leaders of Israel (“you”). Here in verse 11, he spoke about these leaders (“they”).

3:11a–c

The first three lines of this verse are parallel:

^11aHer leaders judge for a bribe,

^11bher priests teach for a price,

^11cand her prophets practice divination for money.

Micah talked about three kinds of leaders: leaders (government rulers or judges), priests, and prophets.

The words “bribe,” “price,” and “money” all refer to money. All of these leaders acted in evil ways in order to get money.

3:11a

Her leaders judge for a bribe,

The city’s leaders accept bribes when they decide court cases.
Those who are chiefs in Jerusalem take bribes when they judge the people.
The judges in Jerusalem make dishonest decisions if people give them money.
When the judges in Jerusalem listen to a dispute, they do not make fair decisions. They make decisions that favor the person who gives them money.

Her leaders judge for a bribe: The first type of leaders that Micah spoke about was the leaders of the city.

Her leaders: The word leaders means “rulers” or “judges.” Micah used the same word here in 3:11a as in 3:1a and 3:9a. It is suggested that you translate it the same way in all three verses.

Her: The pronoun Her occurs three times in 3:11a–c. It refers to Jerusalem. Here are some ways you can translate the phrase “her rulers”:

The city’s leaders

The leaders in Jerusalem

Those who lead the people there

judge: This means “decide a legal case.” These leaders worked as judges. For example, perhaps two men both claimed that they owned the same field. The leaders listened to their disagreement and decided who was right and who was wrong.

for a bribe: A bribe is money that a person gives to a judge or other official. The person expects that the judge will decide the case in his favor, even if the decision is dishonest. Here are some other ways to translate “judge for a bribe”:

give verdicts for presents (NJB)

take bribes when they decide legal cases (NET)

take money to decide who wins in court (NCV)

Here is a way to translate 3:11a that makes explicit some of the implied information:

When the judges in Jerusalem listen to a dispute, they do not make fair decisions. Instead, they make decisions that favor the person who gives them a bribe/money.

3:11b

her priests teach for a price,

The priests in the city teach people who pay them.
The priests in Jerusalem teach God’s laws only to the people who give them money.

her priests teach for a price: The second type of leaders that Micah spoke about was the priests in Jerusalem.

teach: The duty of the priests was to teach the people about God’s laws. In their teaching, they explained the meaning of the laws and instructed the people about the right way to live. There are two ways to interpret the word teach here:

It means “teach or instruct.” For example:
her priests instruct (NASB) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NIV, NLT, NRSV, GNT)
It means “give a ruling, verdict, or decision.” For example:
her priests give rulings (REB) (NAB, NET, NJB, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with most English versions, BART, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.NAC (pages 80–81) mentions that the duties of the priests included not only teaching the laws in the Torah but also deciding controversies that were too difficult for local courts to decide (Deuteronomy 17:9, 11). UBS (pages 180–182) and JFB (page 691) are among the commentaries that also mention this secondary duty of the priests. However, you may want to add a footnote such as the following:

Sometimes the priests were also asked to decide legal cases that were too difficult for the local courts to decide. See Deuteronomy 17:8–11.

for a price: This means that the priests fulfilled their duty if the people paid them.

Here are some other ways to translate 3:11b:

her priests instruct for a price (NASB)

the priests interpret the Law for pay (GNT)

3:11c

and her prophets practice divination for money.

The prophets in the city predict the future to people who pay them.
The prophets in Jerusalem give advice only to people who give them money.
The prophets in the city interpret omens and predict fortunes if people pay them.

her prophets practice divination for money: The third type of leaders that Micah spoke about was the prophets in Jerusalem.

practice divination: In Hebrew, this phrase is the verb “divine.” It is related to the word “diviners” in 3:7b. It means “predict the future, tell fortunes, or read omens.”

for money: If a Jewish person had a problem, he or she might go to a prophet for help. Micah accused the prophets in Jerusalem of helping only people who paid them money.

Here are some other ways to translate 3:11c:

its prophets give oracles for money (NRSV)

and her prophets read omens for pay (NET)

the prophets give their revelations for money (GNT)

3:11d

Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying,

But all these leaders trust in Yahweh, saying,
But even though they do these wicked things, these leaders all depend on Yahweh to help/protect them. This is what they say, but they are mistaken:

Yet they lean upon the LORD: The word Yet introduces an unexpected contrast. Normally, wicked leaders do not rely on the LORD for his help, but these wicked leaders expected that the LORD would rescue them. Almost all English versions introduce this contrast with “but” or “yet.”

In some languages, it may be helpful to make the implied reasoning explicit. For example:

But even though they do those wicked things, nevertheless they depend on the LORD to rescue them from trouble.

they: The pronoun they refers to all of the three groups mentioned in 3:11a–c: the leaders, priests and prophets. It does not refer only to the prophets. In some languages, it may be necessary to clarify who the pronoun refers to. For example:

and they all claim that the Lord is with them (GNT)

lean upon the LORD: This phrase means to “trust in” or “depend on” the LORD. In languages that do not use a verb such as “trust” or “depend,” it may be possible to express the meaning by using a direct quote. For example:

But all of these leaders say, “The LORD will protect us.”

saying: Some versions use the word “claim” here. For example:

Yet they claim to trust the Lord (NET)

and they all claim that the Lord is with them (GNT)

In this context, the word “claim” means “confidently say” or “assert.”

3:11e

“Is not the LORD among us?

“Is it not true that Yahweh is with/among us?^(incl)
Yahweh is indeed/certainly on our side!

Is not the LORD among us?: In this verse part, Micah quoted what the leaders said. They said this because the temple was in Jerusalem, and they thought that the LORD’s presence was in his temple.

This is a rhetorical question. The function of this rhetorical question was to express their certainty that the LORD was indeed in their midst.

Here are some other ways to translate this rhetorical question:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us? (ESV)
The LORD is with us, is that not true?
As a statement. For example:
“After all, the Lord is with us. (GW)
“The Lord is on our side. (CEV)

3:11e–f

(combined/reordered)

“Nothing bad will happen to us, because Yahweh lives here with us.”
“Yahweh lives with us here in this city, so we cannot possibly experience any harm/disaster.”

3:11f

No disaster can come upon us.”

No disaster/harm will happen/come to us^(incl).”
So of course we will not experience anything bad/harmful!”

No disaster can come upon us: The leaders in Jerusalem did not believe Micah’s prophecy that the LORD would destroy the city (3:12). They thought that nothing bad would happen to them. Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

No disaster is going to overtake us.” (NJB)

No harm will come to us.” (CEV)

Nothing bad will happen to us.” (GW)

General Comment on 3:11e–f

In some languages, it may be clearer or more natural to reorder these verse parts and/or to make explicit the logical connection between them. For example:

“Nothing will harm us^(incl), because the LORD is here among us.”

“The LORD lives with us^(incl) here in this city, so we cannot possibly experience any harm.”

General Comment on 3:11

In 3:9–10 and in 3:12, Micah spoke to the leaders (“you”). But in 3:11, he spoke about the leaders (“they”). In some languages, it may be clearer to use the pronoun “you” in 3:11 as well as in the surrounding verses. For example:

^3:11You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim you are depending on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” (NLT)

You leaders accept bribes for dishonest decisions. You priests and prophets teach and preach, but only for money. Then you say, “The Lord is on our side. No harm will come to us.” (CEV)

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear MIC 3:11

Hebrew word order