¹⁸ And the prince doth not take of the inheritance of the people to oppress them, out of their possession, out of his own possession he doth cause his sons to inherit, so that My people are not scattered each from his possession.'

⁸ of the land there is to him for a possession in Israel, and My princes do not oppress any more My people, and the land they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

²⁷ Its princes in its midst `are' as wolves, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain.

¹⁹ and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Hast thou murdered, and also possessed? and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, do the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'

⁸ wherefore, he saith, `Having gone up on high he led captive captivity, and gave gifts to men,' --

²⁸ and life age-during I give to them, and they shall not perish -- to the age, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand;

¹ And I say, `Hear, I pray you, heads of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment?

² Ye who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,

³ And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stript, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread `them' out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a caldron.

¹ Wo `to' those devising iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the light of the morning they do it, For their hand is -- to God.

² And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.

¹ A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Micah the Morashite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, that he hath seen concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:

² Hear, O peoples, all of them! Attend, O earth, and its fulness, And the Lord Jehovah is against you for a witness, The Lord from His holy temple.

²¹ Because with side and with shoulder ye thrust away, And with your horns push all the diseased, Till ye have scattered them to the out-place,

³ The fat ye do eat, and the wool ye put on, The fed one ye slaughter, the flock ye feed not.

⁴ The weak ye have not strengthened, And the sick one ye have not healed, And the broken ye have not bound up, And the driven away have not brought back, And the lost ye have not sought, And with might ye have ruled them and with rigour.

⁵ And they are scattered from want of a shepherd, And are for food to every beast of the field, Yea, they are scattered.

⁶ Go astray do My flock on all the mountains, And on every high hill, And on all the face of the land have My flock been scattered, And there is none inquiring, and none seeking.

⁵ Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth.

⁶ In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, `Our Righteousness.'

¹ Lo, for righteousness doth a king reign, As to princes, for judgment they rule.

² And each hath been as a hiding-place `from' wind, And as a secret hiding-place `from' inundation, As rivulets of waters in a dry place, As a shadow of a heavy rock in a weary land.

³ To refresh him in the fear of Jehovah, And by the sight of his eyes he judgeth not, Nor by the hearing of his ears decideth.

⁴ And he hath judged in righteousness the poor, And decided in uprightness for the humble of earth, And hath smitten earth with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips he putteth the wicked to death.

⁷² And he ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!

² He judgeth Thy people with righteousness, And Thy poor with judgment.

³ The mountains bear peace to the people, And the heights by righteousness.

⁴ He judgeth the poor of the people, Giveth deliverance to the sons of the needy, And bruiseth the oppressor.

¹⁸ Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast taken captive captivity, Thou hast taken gifts for men, That even the refractory may rest, O Jah God.