Judgment on the Legal Butchers (3:1-4): It would seem as if 2:12–13 has interrupted the series of judgment oracles that we find in chapters 2 and 3 and that this oracle of judgment in 3:1–4 simply continues the announcements of sins and their punishments that we have seen in 2:1–3, 4–5, and 2:8–11. As a result, many commentators have considered 2:12–13 to be a later editorial insertion unrelated to its context.

But in the sweep of Yahweh’s plan in Israel’s history, the book of Micah envisions that part of Yahweh’s salvation of his people will include the punishment of those who have corrupted its life. The punishment that is announced in 3:4, like 2:4 with its notice of “that day,” will also take place at an indefinite time in the future. It will be then (v. 4a) and at that time (v. 4c). Th…