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?
Parallel translations
- WEB I said, “Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: Isn’t it for you to know justice?
- BSB Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice?
- NKJV And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?
- NASB And I said, “Hear now, you leaders of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?
- NLT I said, “Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Micah confronts Israel's rulers, asking whether they, of all people, should not know justice. It indicts leaders for failing their basic duty.
Overview
The 'heads' and 'rulers' were responsible to administer justice, yet they had abandoned it. Micah's pointed question exposes the gap between their office and their conduct. Leaders bear heightened accountability before God for how they treat those under their care.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Jer 5:4–5Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
- Ps 82:1–5God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
- Isa 1:10Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
- Hos 5:1Hear 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.
- Amos 4:1Hear 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.
- Mic 3:9–10Hear 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.
- Jer 22:2–3And 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:
- Ps 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
- 1 Cor 6:5I 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?
- Deut 16:18Judges 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.
- Deut 1:13–17Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
- 2 Chr 19:5–10And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,
- Jer 13:15–18Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Micah names the town — 'But you, Bethlehem... from you shall come forth one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old' — the birthplace of the eternal King.
How Micah 3:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.