The prophet denounces the sins of the rulers, false prophets, and priests; and begins with the injustice and oppression practised by the great men. And I said. The new address is thus introduced as being analogous to the denunciations in the preceding chapter, which were interrupted by the promise of deliverance, to which there is no reference here.
O heads of Jacob; synonymous with princes of the house of Israel (comp. Micah 3:8; Micah 1:5). Micah addresses the heads of families and the officials to whom the administration of justice appertained.
These magistrates and judges seem to have been chiefly members of the royal family, at any rate in Judah; see Jeremiah 21:11, Jeremiah 21:12 (Cheyne). Septuagint, οἱ κατάλοιποι οἴκου ἰσραήλ, "ye remnant of the house of Israel."
Is it not for you to know judgment? Ye, of all men, ought to know what is just and fair, and to practise it (compare the opening of the Book of Wisdom).