The words “then I said” remind us that Micah is being used of God to bring his judgment against the people (3:1–4). This also indicates that what follows in chapter 3 is a continuation of what came before; indeed, we find the same hard-hitting judgment brought against powerful oppressors that we saw in the earlier chapters. Once again (cf. 1:2) Micah calls for attention, this time the attention of the leaders and rulers of Israel. These men are accused of gross sin and dereliction of duty. They are the ones who should know justice (perhaps judges are specifically in mind), but they do not. They have rejected the admonition Amos (5:14) gave earlier, so that they hate good and love evil.

The image Micah then evokes in his hearers’ minds is that of a cannibal who rends the flesh of his vict…