MIC 3:2 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Those who hate good
⇔ ≈ and love evil,
⇔ those who tear their skin off them
⇔ ≈ and their flesh from their bones,

3:2 OSHB variant note: רעה: (x-qere) ’רָ֑ע’: lemma_7451 b n_1 morph_HAamsa id_33pm7 רָ֑ע

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX μισοῦντες τὰ καλὰ, καὶ ζητοῦντες τὰ πονηρὰ, ἁρπάζοντες τὰ δέρματα αὐτῶν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰς σάρκας αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτῶν.
(misountes ta kala, kai zaʸtountes ta ponaʸra, harpazontes ta dermata autōn apʼ autōn, kai tas sarkas autōn apo tōn osteōn autōn. )

BrTr who hate good, and seek evil; who tear their skins off them, and their flesh off their bones:

ULT Those who hate good
⇔ and love evil,
⇔ those who tear off their skin from off them
⇔ their flesh from their bones—

UST but you hate what is good
⇔ and love what is evil.
⇔ You act like butchers:
⇔ it is as though you strip the skin off my people
⇔ and tear the flesh from their bones.

BSB You hate good and love evil.
⇔ You tear the skin from my people
⇔ and strip the flesh from their bones.

OEB Haters of that which is good and lovers of evil!

WEBBE You who hate the good,
⇔ and love the evil;
⇔ who tear off their skin,
⇔ and their flesh from off their bones;

WMBB (Same as above)

NET yet you hate what is good,
⇔ and love what is evil.
⇔ You flay my people’s skin
⇔ and rip the flesh from their bones.

LSV You who are hating good, and loving evil,
Taking violently their skin from off them,
And their flesh from off their bones,

FBV you who hate good and love evil! You tear off their skin, and rip the flesh from their bones.

T4T but you hate what is good
⇔ and you love what is evil.
⇔ You act like butchers:
⇔ it is as though you strip the skin off my people
⇔ and tear the flesh from their bones.

LEB • Those of you who are haters of good and lovers of evil,
• who tear their skin from them
• and their flesh from their bones,

BBE You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones;

Moff you haters of right and lovers of wrong,
⇔ is not a sense of justice due from you?

JPS Who hate the good, and love the evil; who rob their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

ASV ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

DRA You that hate good, and love evil: that violently pluck off their skins from them, and their flesh from their bones?

YLT Ye who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,

Drby Ye who hate the good, and love evil; who pluck off their skin from them, and their flesh from off their bones;

RV who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

SLT Hating the good and loving the evil; plucking off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones.

Wbstr Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from them, and their flesh from off their bones;

KJB-1769 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

KJB-1611 Who hate the good and loue the euill, who plucke off their skinne from off them, and their flesh from off their bones.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps But they hate the good, and loue the euill, they plucke of their skinnes from them, and their fleshe from their bones.
(But they hate the good, and love the evil, they pluck of their skins from them, and their flesh from their bones.)

Gnva But they hate the good, and loue the euill: they plucke off their skinnes from them, and their flesh from their bones.
(But they hate the good, and love the evil: they pluck off their skins from them, and their flesh from their bones. )

Cvdl But ye hate the good, and loue the euell: ye plucke of mens skynnes, and the flesh from their bones:
(But ye/you_all hate the good, and love the evil: ye/you_all pluck of men’s skins, and the flesh from their bones:)

Wycl and louen yuele? Whiche violentli taken awei the skynnes of hem fro aboue hem, and the fleisch of hem fro aboue the bonys of hem.
(and love evil? Which violentli taken away the skins of hem from above hem, and the flesh of hem from above the bones of hem.)

Luth Aber ihr hasset das Gute und liebet das Arge; ihr schindet ihnen die Haut ab und das Fleisch von ihren Beinen
(But you(pl)/their/her hates the goodness and loves the evil(n); you(pl)/their/her schindet to_them the skin ab and the flesh from your(pl) legs)

ClVg qui odio habetis bonum, et diligitis malum; qui violenter tollitis pelles eorum desuper eis, et carnem eorum desuper ossibus eorum;
(who/which hate you(pl)_have good, and you(pl)_love evil; who/which violenter takes_awayis skins their from_above to_them, and the_flesh their from_above bones their; )

SOTN SIL Open Translation 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 3:1–4

In this paragraph, Micah first spoke to the judicial leaders of Israel. He accused them of doing evil and cruel things (verses 1–3). Then he spoke about them. He said that the LORD would punish them (verse 4).

3:2a

You hate good and love evil.

You^(plur) hate to do what is right. You love to do what is evil.
But/Instead you like to do what is evil, and you do not like to do what is right.
So why do you prefer to do what is wicked rather than what is good/right?

You hate good and love evil: This verse part contrasts with 3:1b. The leaders ought to rule with justice. But instead they hate good and love evil. Some versions make this contrast explicit. For example:

yet you hate what is good and you love what is evil (GNT)

yet you hate what is right, and love what is wrong (NET)

but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil (NLT)

hate good…love evil: The first phrase means “to not want to do what is good or right.” The second phrase means “to enjoy doing what is evil.”

In some languages, it is not natural to speak about hating good or loving evil. Here are some other ways to translate these phrases:

but you prefer to do evil instead of what is right (CEV)

But you enjoy doing what is wicked, you do not like to do what is good.

This verse part continues Micah’s rebuke from 3:1b. In some languages, it may be natural to translate this rebuke as a rhetorical question. For example:

So why do you hate doing what is right and love doing what is evil?

3:2b–3e

In verses 2b–c and 3a–e, Micah used a horrifying extended metaphor to describe the extreme cruelty of the evil rulers toward the people. Most scholars think that Micah was comparing the evil rulers to people who ate human flesh or to butchers who chopped up meat. Parts of the metaphor may also refer to ritual human sacrifices or to the cruelty of the Assyrians, who sometimes flayed the skin off their captives.TOTC, Waltke 1993, and Waltke 2007 say that the metaphor refers to cannibalism, as do ABC and IVPB. UBS (pages 170–171) suggests either one comparison (cannibals) or two comparisons (a butcher and wild animals). NICOT, EBC, and NAC prefer the analogy of a butcher, as does KD (page 306), who summarizes the details as “treat them like cattle.” ZIBBC (page 133) speaks of the “horrors of human sacrifice.” A&F (page 353) mention the practice of sacrificing children in the fire and references 2 Kings 16:3 and 17:16–17, but they also say that the wording here does not support the idea of ritual sacrifice and that there is “no information as to whether human flesh was actually consumed.” They make the point that “cannibalism under duress” is a very different thing from eating “a human out of sheer malevolence” and say it is unlikely that “the entire leadership of Israel engaged in such practices together.”

The parts of this metaphor are in the form of a seven-line chiasm. The main point occurs in the third line (3a). Verses 2b and 3b form a pair, as do 2c and 3c. Verses 3d–e are connected to 3c as part of the overall cooking process.According to Waltke 1993 (page 658), the similes in the last lines of verse 3 add further details to the incomplete metaphors in the first part of the verse. Waltke 2007 (page 149) comments that the first three clauses of v.3 probably represent “three aspects of one situation” and that “the repetition of their skin and bones…emphasizes and confirms the cannibalism of the culprits.” Chronologically, 2b–c and 3b–e precede the main point in 3a.

^2bYou tear the skin from my people

^2cand strip the flesh from their bones.

^3aYou eat the flesh of my people

^3bafter stripping off their skin

^3cand breaking their bones.

^3dYou chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot,

^3elike meat in a caldron.

See the General Comment at the end of the note on 3:3d–e for ways to translate this metaphor and to make the lines chronological.

3:2b

You tear the skin from my people

You^(plur) pull off the skin of my countrymen,
You oppress my fellow Jews. Your cruelty can be compared to someone who skins another person while they are still alive,

You tear the skin from my people: To tear the skin from means “to pull or peel the skin off a person’s body.”

my people: This phrase does not occur here in Hebrew. It is supplied from 3:3a. It means “my fellow Jews” or “my countrymen.” (See the Note on this same phrase at 1:9c.)

Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

You skin my people alive (NCV)

You flay my people’s skin (NET)

3:2c

and strip the flesh from their bones.

and you^(plur) tear/separate the meat from their bones.
and then he tears/strips the meat from their bones.

and strip the flesh from their bones: After they tore off the skin of the people, they tore the flesh from their bones.

There is an ellipsis (a deliberately omitted word or phrase) in 3:2c in Hebrew. For example, here is 3:2b–c in the NRSV:

who tear the skin off my people, and the flesh off their bones

In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing phrase from 3:2b, as the BSB does. For example:

and rip the flesh from their bones (NET)

flesh: The word flesh refers to the soft part of a human or animal’s body. It is the part of an animal that people eat as meat.