Micah 3:10
New International Version
who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.

New Living Translation
You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption.

English Standard Version
who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.

Berean Standard Bible
who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.

King James Bible
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

New King James Version
Who build up Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with iniquity:

New American Standard Bible
Who build Zion with bloodshed, And Jerusalem with malice.

NASB 1995
Who build Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

NASB 1977
Who build Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

Legacy Standard Bible
Who build Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

Amplified Bible
Who build Zion with blood [and extortion and murder] And Jerusalem with violent injustice.

Christian Standard Bible
who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with injustice.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with injustice.

American Standard Version
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

Contemporary English Version
You make cruelty and murder a way of life in Jerusalem.

English Revised Version
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You build Zion on bloodshed and Jerusalem on wickedness.

Good News Translation
You are building God's city, Jerusalem, on a foundation of murder and injustice.

International Standard Version
who are building up Zion by means of bloodshed, and Jerusalem by means of iniquity.

Majority Standard Bible
who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.

NET Bible
You build Zion through bloody crimes, Jerusalem through unjust violence.

New Heart English Bible
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

Webster's Bible Translation
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

World English Bible
who build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Building up Zion with blood, "" And Jerusalem with iniquity.

Young's Literal Translation
Building up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.

Smith's Literal Translation
Building Zion with bloods and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
You that build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

Catholic Public Domain Version
You build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

New American Bible
Who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness!

New Revised Standard Version
who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong!
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Who are building Zion in blood and Jerusalem in evil
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
That build up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
who build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Rulers and Prophets Condemned
9Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right, 10who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”…

Cross References
Jeremiah 22:13
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,

Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

Ezekiel 22:27
Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.

Habakkuk 2:12
Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity!

Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

Jeremiah 6:6
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.

Amos 5:11
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.

Zephaniah 3:3
Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.

Isaiah 1:23
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

Ezekiel 22:25-29
The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her. / Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. / Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain. ...

Matthew 23:27-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. / In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Luke 11:39
Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Matthew 21:13
And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Mark 11:17
Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Luke 19:46
He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”


Treasury of Scripture

They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

build up Zion.

Jeremiah 22:13-17
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; …

Ezekiel 22:25-28
There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof…

Habakkuk 2:9-12
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! …

blood.

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Blood Bloodshed Build Building Evil-Doing Iniquity Injustice Jerusalem Unrighteousness Violent Wickedness Wrong Zion
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Blood Bloodshed Build Building Evil-Doing Iniquity Injustice Jerusalem Unrighteousness Violent Wickedness Wrong Zion
Micah 3
1. The cruelty of the princes.
5. The falsehood of the prophets.
8. The false security of them both.














who build Zion
The phrase "who build Zion" refers to the leaders and rulers of Israel who were responsible for the construction and development of Zion, which is another name for Jerusalem, the holy city. In the Hebrew context, "Zion" is often symbolic of God's chosen place, a city meant to reflect His glory and righteousness. However, the leaders were corrupting this sacred task. The Hebrew root for "build" (בנה, banah) implies not just physical construction but also establishing and fortifying a community or society. The irony here is that instead of building a city that honors God, they were building it on a foundation of sin.

with bloodshed
The term "bloodshed" (דמים, damim) in Hebrew is a strong word that signifies violence, murder, and the shedding of innocent blood. This indicates that the leaders were using unjust means, including violence and oppression, to achieve their goals. Historically, this reflects a period in Israel's history where corruption and moral decay were rampant among the ruling classes. The leaders were exploiting the people, and their actions were in direct opposition to the justice and mercy that God required.

and Jerusalem
"Jerusalem" is the central city of worship and the political heart of Israel. It is meant to be a city of peace, as its name suggests (from the Hebrew "Yerushalayim," which can be interpreted as "foundation of peace"). However, the actions of the leaders were turning it into a place of turmoil and injustice. The city that was supposed to be a beacon of God's presence and law was being defiled by the very people entrusted with its care.

with iniquity
The word "iniquity" (עולה, avlah) refers to moral perversity, injustice, and wickedness. It is a comprehensive term that encompasses all forms of sin and corruption. The leaders were not just guilty of isolated acts of sin but were characterized by a pervasive pattern of unrighteousness. This iniquity was systemic, affecting the entire social and religious fabric of Jerusalem. The prophetic message here is a call to repentance and a return to God's standards of justice and righteousness.

(10) They build up Zion with blood--i.e., they acquire money for the erection of splendid buildings by spoliation and robbery, not stopping short of murder. So also Habakkuk (Micah 2:12) denounces the king of Babylon for the bloody wars with which he obtained wealth for the enlargement of the city.

Verse 10. - They build up Zion with blood. Blood is, as it were, the cement that binds the building together. They raise palaces with money gained by extortion, rapine, and judicial murders like that of Naboth (1 Kings 21; comp. Jeremiah 22:13, etc.; Ezekiel 22:27; Habakkuk 2:12). Cheyne thinks this to be a too dark view of the state of public morals, and would therefore consider "blood" to be used for violent conduct leading to ruin of others, comparing Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:3; Proverbs 1:11. In these passages, however, actual bloodshed may be meant; and we know too little of the moral condition of Judaea at this time to be able to decide against the darker view.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
who build
בֹּנֶ֥ה (bō·neh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 1129: To build

Zion
צִיּ֖וֹן (ṣî·yō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6726: Zion -- a mountain in Jerusalem, also a name for Jerusalem

with bloodshed
בְּדָמִ֑ים (bə·ḏā·mîm)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1818: Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed

and Jerusalem
וִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם (wî·rū·šā·lim)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

with iniquity.
בְּעַוְלָֽה׃ (bə·‘aw·lāh)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5766: Injustice, unrighteousness


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OT Prophets: Micah 3:10 They build up Zion with blood (Mc Mic. Mi)
Micah 3:9
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