Micah 3:1
And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
Micah 3:1 in other translations
| BSB | Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice? |
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| WEB | I said, “Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: Isn’t it for you to know justice? |
| ASV | And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice? |
| YLT | And I say, ‘Hear, I pray you, heads of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment? |
| DARBY | And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment? |
| BBE | And I said, Give ear, now, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the people of Israel: is it not for you to have knowledge of what is right? |
| Webster | And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment? |
What does Micah 3:1 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Mi 3:1-12. The Sins of the Princes, Prophets, and Priests: The Consequent Desolation of Zion.
1. princes--magistrates or judges. Is it not for you?--Is it not your special function (Jr 5:4, 5)? judgment--justice. Ye sit in judgment on others; surely then ye ought to know the judgment for injustice which awaits yourselves (Ro 2:1).Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Introduction
In this chapter the prophet inveighs with great boldness and spirit against the princes and prophets of Judah; and foretells the destruction of Jerusalem as the consequence of their iniquity, Mic 3:1-12. The last verse was fulfilled to a certain extent by Nebuchadnezzar; but most fully and literally by the Romans under Titus. See Josephus. Verse 1 Hear - O heads of Jacob - The metaphor of the flock is still carried on. The chiefs of Jacob, and the princes of Israel, instead of taking care of the flocks, defending them, and finding them pasture, oppressed them in various ways. They are like wolves, who tear the skin of the sheep, and the flesh off their bones. This applies to all unjust and oppressive rulers. Suetonius tells us, in his Life of Tiberius, that when the governors of provinces wrote to the emperor, entreating him to increase the tributes, he wrote back: "It is the property of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them." Praesidibus onerandas tributo provincias suadentibus rescripsit: Boni Pastoris esse Tondere pecus, non Deglubebe. This is a maxim which many rulers of the earth do not seem to understand.Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Micah 3:1-8
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Micah 3:1 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Micah 3:1
- Psalms 82:1-5
A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. …
- Isaiah 1:10
Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
- Jeremiah 5:4-5
Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
- Hosea 5:1
Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
- 1 Corinthians 6:5
I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
- Micah 3:9-10
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
- Deuteronomy 1:13-17
Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. …
- Jeremiah 22:2-3
And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
- Amos 4:1
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
- Deuteronomy 16:18
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
- 2 Chronicles 19:5-10
And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. …
- Psalms 14:4
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5 The falsehood of the prophets.
8 The ill-grounded security of them both.
Cir. A.M. 3294. B.C. 710. Hear.
9,10; Isa 1:10; Jer 13:15-18; 22:2,3; Ho 5:1; Am 4:1
Is it.
De 1:13-17; 16:18; 2Ch 19:5-10; Ps 14:4; 82:1-5; Jer 5:4,5; 1Co 6:5
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Micah 3:1
And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?
- Micah 3:2
Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Micah 3:1 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y DIJE: Oid ahora, príncipes de Jacob, y cabezas de la casa de Israel: ¿No pertenecía á vosotros saber el derecho? |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | *Et je dis: Écoutez, je vous prie, chefs de Jacob, et vous, princes de la maison d’Israël: N’est-ce pas à vous de connaître ce qui est juste? |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und ich sprach: Höret doch, ihr Häupter Jakobs und ihr Fürsten des Hauses Israel: Ich es nicht an euch, das Recht zu kennen? |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Et dixi: Audite, princeps Jacob, et duces domus Israël: numquid non vestrum est scire judicium, |