Micah Denounces Israel's Leaders
1 Listen, you rulers of Israel! You are supposed to be concerned about justice, 2 yet you hate what is good and you love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. 3 You eat my people up. You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. 4 The time is coming when you will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer you. He will not listen to your prayers, for you have done evil.
5 My people are deceived by prophets who promise peace to those who pay them, but threaten war for those who don't. To these prophets the Lord says, 6 “Prophets, your day is almost over; the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead my people, you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything.” 7 Those who predict the future will be disgraced by their failure. They will all be humiliated because God does not answer them.
8 But as for me, the Lord fills me with his spirit and power, and gives me a sense of justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel what their sins are. 9 Listen to me, you rulers of Israel, you that hate justice and turn right into wrong. 10 You are building God's city, Jerusalem, on a foundation of murder and injustice. 11 The city's rulers govern for bribes, the priests interpret the Law for pay, the prophets give their revelations for money—and they all claim that the Lord is with them. “No harm will come to us,” they say. “The Lord is with us.”
12 And so, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the Temple hill will become a forest.
Mika unokayikanya batungamili be Iziraela
1 Ngono ndakati,
“Ihwani woku imwi batungamili ba Jakubo,
imwi babusi be bathu be Iziraela.
Apa ate kulikwenyu kuziba kutambunuka kene?
2 Imwi munobenga tjakanaka ngono mukada tjakabipa,
imwi muno mwawula ganda le bathu bangu,
ne nyama muyimwawula mu mafupa abo,
3 imwi munoja nyama ye bathu bangu
muviya ganda labo mulisundula mubali,
muvunilila mafupa abo ebe zwitibhutibhu
mubatemelela semunoti i nyama inolongwa mu ikajana,
se nyama inolongwa mu hali.”
4 Ngono ipapo banowolilila Yahwe
koga abatowobadabila.
Banowobasumbikila buso gwabo mu tjibaka itjetjo
ngekwe bubi gwabakashinga.
5 Yahwe bakati ngekwe balebesambeli banotungamilila bathu bangu ntome, belebeleka
beti, “Kunyalala,”
bedwa wabapa tjinojiwa,
koga usabapa tjinojiwa
bebe belulwamisila kugwa naye.
6 Ndizo wali kowobe busiku kumuli gusina mbono,
zhalima lowobe mu muli lisina ndakidzo.
Zhuba lowomilila balebesambeli,
ngono masikati anowobatundubalila balebesambeli.
7 Baboni banowolengudzika,
bakandili banowobhakhwa nge shoni,
bose koga banowozwimba njiso dzabo
ngoti kusina dabilo kudwa ku Ndzimu.
8 Koga imi ndizhele simba,
nge Meya ya Yahwe
ne kutambunuka ne masimba
kubudza Jakubo bupanduki gugwe,
kubudza Iziraela tjibi tjitje.
9 “Ihwani woku imwi batungamili be nsha wa Jakubo,
imwi babusi be bathu be Iziraela
banoshima kutambunuka,
mube muleyanya kose kwakatambunuka,
10 imwi munobaka Ziyoni ngotebula malopa,
mubaka Jerusalema nge mbipo.
11 Babusi bayo banosumikilisila tjizwimba nlomo,
bapirisiti banodiyila themba,
ne balebesambeli bayo banokandila bebona mari.
Koga benayila Yahwe bebe beti,
‘Apa Yahwe abateli pakati kwedu kene?
Akuna mbatsha dzingatiwila.’
12 Ndizo wali nge kwenyu
Ziyoni inowolimiwa se nnda,
Jerusalema inowobe duluthulu le malala
duthu le ng'umba ye Ndzimu likabe datha lakamela ishakana.”