Micah 3:11

Easy To Read Version

The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes\par to help them decide who wins in court.\par The priests in Jerusalem must be paid\par before they will teach the people.\par People must pay the prophets\par before they will look into the future.\par And then those leaders expect the Lord\par to help them. They say,\par “The Lord lives here with us.\par So nothing bad will happen to us.”\par

Cross References

Proverbs 17:23

An evil person accepts secret payment for cheating other people.

Isaiah 1:23

Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. All of your rulers demand bribes—they accept money for doing wrong things. All of your rulers take pay for cheating people. Your rulers don’t try to help the children that have no parents. And your rulers don’t listen to the needs of the women whose husbands are dead.”

Isaiah 48:2

Yes, they are citizens of the Holy City {\cf2\super [412]} .\par They depend on the God of Israel.\par The Lord All-Powerful is his Name.\par

Isaiah 5:23

And if you pay those people money, they will forgive a criminal. But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.

Isaiah 56:11

They are like hungry dogs.\par They are never satisfied.\par The shepherds don’t know\par what they are doing.\par \{They are like their sheep\}\par that have all wandered away.\par They are greedy.\par All they want to do is satisfy themselves.\par

Jeremiah 23:17

Some of the people hate\par the real messages from the Lord.\par So those prophets give a different message\par to those people.\par They say,\par ‘You will have peace.’\par Some of the people are very stubborn.\par They do only the things they want to do.\par So those prophets say,\par ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’\par

Jeremiah 26:7

The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say all of these words at the Lord’s temple. {\cf2\super [207]}

Jeremiah 5:12

“Those people have lied about the Lord.\par They have said,\par ‘The Lord will not do anything to us.\par Nothing bad will happen to us.\par We will never see an army attack us.\par We will never starve.’\par

Jeremiah 6:13

“All the people of Israel want\par more and more money.\par All the people, from the least important\par to the most important people,\par are like that.\par All the people,\par from prophets to priests\par tell lies.\par

Jeremiah 7:4

Don’t trust the lies that some people say. They say, “This is the temple {\cf2\super [52]} of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord {\cf2\super [53]} !”

Jeremiah 8:10

So I will give their wives to other men.\par I will give their fields to new owners.\par All the people of Israel want\par more and more money.\par All the people,\par from the least important\par to most important people,\par are like that.\par All the people,\par from prophets to priests,\par tell lies.\par

Ezekiel 22:12

“‘In Jerusalem, you men take money to kill people. You people lend money and charge interest on those loans. You people cheat their neighbors just to make a little money. And you people have forgotten me.’ The Lord my Master said these things.

Ezekiel 22:27

“The leaders in Jerusalem are like a wolf eating the animal it has caught. Those leaders attack and kill people just to get rich.

Ezekiel 34:2

“Son of man, {\cf2\super [274]} speak against the shepherds (leaders) of Israel for me. Speak to them for me. Tell them that the Lord and Master says these things, ‘You shepherds of Israel have only been feeding yourselves. It will be very bad for you! Why don’t you shepherds feed the flock?

Hosea 4:18

“Ephraim has joined their drunkenness. Let them continue to be prostitutes. Let them be with their lovers.

Hosea 4:8

”The priests joined in the people’s sins. They wanted more and more of those sins. {\cf2\super [35]}

Amos 5:14

You say \{that God is with you\}.\par So you should do good things, not evil.\par Then you will live.\par And the Lord God All-Powerful\par really will be with you.\par

Amos 9:10

You will be covered with shame,\par and you will be destroyed forever.\par Why? Because you were very cruel\par to your brother Jacob. {\cf2\super [8]} \par

Micah 3:5

Some false prophets are telling lies to the Lord’s people. The Lord says this about those prophets:

Micah 7:3

People are good at doing bad things\par with both hands.\par Officials ask for bribes.\par Judges take money\par to change their decisions in court.\par “Important leaders” \{don’t make\par good and fair decisions\}.\par They do whatever they want to do.\par

Zephaniah 3:3

Jerusalem’s leaders are like roaring lions. Her judges {\cf2\super [19]} are like hungry wolves that come in the evening \{to attack the sheep\}—and in the morning nothing is left.

Zephaniah 3:4

Her prophets {\cf2\super [20]} are always making their secret plans to get more and more. Her priests have treated holy things like they are not holy. They have done bad things to God’s teachings.

Malachi 1:10

“Surely, some of you priests could close the temple doors and light the fires correctly. I am not pleased with you. I will not accept your gifts.” The Lord All-Powerful said these things.

Malachi 2:9

“You don’t live the way I told you! You have not accepted my teachings! So I will make you become not important—people will not respect you!”

Numbers 16:15

So Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “I never did anything wrong to these people. I never took anything from them—not even a donkey! Lord, don’t accept their gifts!”

Numbers 22:7

The leaders of Moab and Midian left. They went to talk to Balaam. They carried with them money to pay him for his service. [282] Then they told him what Balak had said.

Matthew 3:9

And don’t think that you can boast and say to yourselves, ‘Abraham {\cf2\super [39]} is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks here.

1 Timothy 3:3

He must not drink too much wine, and he must not be a person who likes to fight. He must be gentle and peaceful. He must not be a person who loves money.

Titus 1:11

An elder {\cf2\super [7]} must \{be able to show that those people are wrong and\} stop them from talking \{about those worthless things\}. Those people are destroying whole families by teaching things that they should not teach. They teach those things only to cheat people and make money.

1 Peter 5:2

take care of the group of people that you are responsible for. They are God’s flock. {\cf2\super [31]} Watch over that flock because you want to, not because you are forced to do it. That is how God wants it. Do it because you are happy to serve, not because you want money.

1 Samuel 8:3

But Samuel’s sons did not live the same way he did. Joel and Abijah accepted bribes. They took money secretly and changed their decisions in court. They cheated people in court.