Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
- KJV That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
- BSB Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
- NKJV That they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.
- NASB As for evil, both hands do it well. The leader asks for a bribe, also the judge, And the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul; So they plot it together.
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
Rulers, judges, and the powerful collude in evil, demanding bribes and twisting justice to their desires. It exposes corruption at every level of leadership.
Overview
The leaders are diligent only in doing evil: officials take bribes and the powerful dictate their corrupt will, all conspiring together. Justice is for sale, and those meant to protect the weak instead prey on them. Such failure of human leaders heightens the hope for the righteous Judge and King, fulfilled in Christ, who will judge with perfect equity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Mic 3:11Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
- Prov 4:16–17For they don’t sleep, unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
- Jer 8:10Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to those who shall possess them. For everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
- Amos 5:12For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins — you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts.
- 1 Kgs 21:9–14She wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
- Isa 26:21For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.
- Ezek 22:27Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
- Matt 26:15and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
- Ezek 22:6“‘“Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
- Jer 3:5“‘Will he retain his anger forever? Will he keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and have done evil things, and have had your way.”
- Hos 4:18Their drink has become sour. They play the prostitute continually. Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.
- Isa 1:23Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don’t judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
- Luke 12:1–2Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
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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 7:3 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
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