The opening words “And I said” (Revised Standard Version) indicate that this section was probably delivered originally as a sermon. Since it is aimed at the leaders of the nation, it seems likely that it was delivered in Jerusalem, the capital. There it would easily have come to the attention of the king, as Jer 26.18-19 states. Since the prophet is the speaker in Micah 2.13, and the section heading makes it clear that he is still speaking in chapter 3, the words “And I said” are left implicit in Good News Translation. If this makes the opening of the section sound too abrupt in other languages, the words may be retained, and the prophet may be identified by name if necessary.

For Listen, compare 1.2; 6.1.

The Good News Translation expression you rulers of Israel translates two Hebrew phrases that are parallel with each other and synonymous in meaning. Their literal form is seen in Revised Standard Version “you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel.” These are the people to whom Micah is speaking these words. This comprehensive expression probably includes both judicial and government leaders. Unless some similar double expression is common in the receptor language, it will probably be more natural to follow Good News Translation and combine the two phrases into one. The use of the terms “Jacob” and “Israel” when referring to the leaders of Judah lends support to the dating of this passage after the end of the northern kingdom.

As leaders of God’s people, these rulers of Israel were supposed to be concerned about justice. That is, they were supposed to be familiar with the instructions of the Mosaic Law, and they were responsible for administering them in a way that would encourage people to treat each other fairly. But instead these rulers used their privileged position to advance their own interests. You are supposed to be concerned about justice may be translated as “It is your duty to know what people ought to do” or “It is your responsibility to see that people act justly.” This last line of verse 1 is literally a rhetorical question (see Revised Standard Version), but it carries the same meaning as the strong statement in Good News Translation.

The behavior of these rulers was so different from what God expected that Micah goes so far as to say in verse 2 you hate what is good and you love what is evil. The leaders were thus the exact opposite of what they should have been. In some languages it may be difficult to translate what is good and what is evil. These may be translated as “you hate to do good things (or, to act in a good way) and you love to do evil things (or, to act in evil ways).”

In the rest of verses 2 and 3, Micah strengthens his words with a string of pictures. The pictures are short and quick, like a series of snapshot photographs. It is not certain whether there is one comparison or two at the base of this picture language. There is certainly a picture of a butcher at work on a carcass of meat, skinning it and cutting it up into pieces to be cooked. Some scholars think that the last clause of verse 2, You … tear the flesh off their bones, and the first clause of verse 3, You eat my people up, make more sense as a picture of a wild animal devouring its prey. If this is the case, this second picture comes in the middle of the first one about the butcher. The first picture begins in verse 2 with the words You skin my people alive and continues in verse 3 with You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. This apparent awkwardness has led some scholars to change the Hebrew text, either by omitting some phrases or by putting them in a different order. It seems possible, however, to regard this passage as another example of what is called a chiasmus (see the discussion of Micah 1.4). This means that each picture, the butcher and the wild animal, consists of two parts ordered as follows:

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. et al. A Handbook on Micah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1982, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .