Micah 3:11
in Micah 3Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
KJV
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.
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This verse in Micah 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe Apostle Paul: Those who serve the altar, he says, partake of the altar and live by it (1 Corinthians 9:13). It is permitted for you, O priest, to live by the altar, not to indulge in luxury. The mouth of the ox that treads out the grain is not muzzled (ibid., 9). We know these things, and yet the Apostle does not abuse this permission: he is content with food and clothing. He labors night and day with his own hands so as not to be a burden to anyone.
This site's exposition
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob
on Micah 3:9-11
The chapter's third indictment gathers heads, priests and prophets together, judging for reward, teaching for hire, divining for money, three offices meant to serve the people now serving only themselves. Verse 10 states the plainest charge in the shortest sentence in the chapter, they build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity, the holy city's very construction funded by injustice. Verse 11 exposes the self-deception underneath it, corrupt leaders who still lean upon the Lord and ask is not the Lord among us, none evil can come upon us, presuming on God's presence while defying everything his presence requires.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 9 onwards) Hear this, rulers of the house of Jacob, and judges of the house of Israel: you who abhor justice and pervert all that is right, who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a fee, its prophets divine for money, yet they lean upon the Lord and say, 'Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.'
The Medieval Church1 voice
If however circumvention occurs with a profane agreement, it is called simony, in which he who buys acquires nothing, nor does he who sells possess anything, but they only handle another's property: and this happens when a spiritual thing is sold as though it were …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(2.) They are confident of their own safety: No evil can come upon us. Many are rocked asleep; in a fatal security by their church-privileges, as if those would protect them in sin, and shelter them from punishment, which are really, and will be, the greatest aggravations both of their sin and of their punishment.
The heads thereof judge for reward,....
Princes and prophets, when they faithfully discharge the duty of their office, are to be highly honoured above other men; but when they betray their trust, and act contrary to it, they should hear of their faults as well as others, and shall be made to know that there is a God above them, to whom they are accountable; at his bar the prophet here, in his name, arraigns them.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The heads thereof judge for reward - Every class was corrupted. One sin, the root of all evil 1Ti 6:10, covetousness, entered into all they did. It, not God, was their one end, and so their God.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
heads thereof--the princes of Jerusalem. judge for reward--take bribes as judges (Mic 7:3). priests teach for hire--It was their duty to teach the law and to decide controversies gratuitously (Le 10:11; Mal 2:7; compare Jer 6:13; Jude 11). prophets . . . divine--that is, false prophets.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The heads thereof judge for reward - This does not apply to the regular law officers, who have their proper salaries for giving up their whole time and attention to the conscientious discharge of the duties of their office; but to those who take a reward, who take Bribes, for the perversion of justice; who will decide in favor of those from whom they get the greatest reward. The prophets - divine for money - These are evidently the false prophets; for none, professing to be sent by God, used any kind of divination. Yet will they lean upon the Lord - They will prescribe fasts and public thanksgivings, while not one sin is repented of or forsaken, and not one public grievance is redressed. Is not the Lord among us? - Here is his temple, here are his ordinances, and here are his people. Will he leave these? Yes, he will abandon the whole, because all are polluted.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רָאשֶׁ֣יהָ׀ | rasheiha | chiefs its | H7218 → | 599 times |
| בְּשֹׁ֣חַד | beshochad | for a bribe | H7810 → | |
| יִשְׁפֹּ֗טוּ | yishpotu | they judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| וְכֹהֲנֶ֙יהָ֙ | vekhohaneiha | and priests its | H3548 → | |
| בִּמְחִ֣יר | bimchir | for a price | H4242 → | |
| יוֹר֔וּ | yoru | they teach | H3384 → | |
| וּנְבִיאֶ֖יהָ | unevieiha | and prophets its | H5030 → | 314 times |
| בְּכֶ֣סֶף | bekhesef | for money | H3701 → | |
| יִקְסֹ֑מוּ | yiksomu | they divine | H7080 → | 20 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִשָּׁעֵ֣נוּ | yishaenu | they depend | H8172 → | |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲל֤וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | [is] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּקִרְבֵּ֔נוּ | bekirbenu | in midst our | H7130 → | 227 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָב֥וֹא | tavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֵ֖ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רָעָֽה׃ | raah | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
רָאשֶׁ֣יהָ׀chiefs its
rasheihaH7218 →599 times
בְּשֹׁ֣חַדfor a bribe
beshochadH7810 →
יִשְׁפֹּ֗טוּthey judge
yishpotuH8199 →202 times
וְכֹהֲנֶ֙יהָ֙and priests its
vekhohaneihaH3548 →
בִּמְחִ֣ירfor a price
bimchirH4242 →
יוֹר֔וּthey teach
yoruH3384 →
וּנְבִיאֶ֖יהָand prophets its
unevieihaH5030 →314 times
בְּכֶ֣סֶףfor money
bekhesefH3701 →
יִקְסֹ֑מוּthey divine
yiksomuH7080 →20 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִשָּׁעֵ֣נוּthey depend
yishaenuH8172 →
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הֲל֤וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
יְהוָה֙[is] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּקִרְבֵּ֔נוּin midst our
bekirbenuH7130 →227 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָב֥וֹאit will come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
עָלֵ֖ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
רָעָֽה׃calamity
raahH7451 →662 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 6:13“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:11
“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 8:10
Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all…
- Jeremiah 23:11
Through
Titus 1:11who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 3:6
They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,
- 1 Timothy 6:5
and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- Titus 3:10
Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,
- 2 Timothy 3:6
Through
Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
it leads to
- Micah 7:3
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.
- Micah 7:3
Through
Micah 3:5This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:14–15
“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination,…
- Jeremiah 6:14
They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
- Jeremiah 14:14–15
About Micah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collationes de decem praeceptis, Collation 6 (Paris, Lent 1267); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.