מיכה, פרק ג׳, פסוק ג׳

The cruelty of corrupt leaders toward the vulnerable often reaches unimaginable levels of exploitation. Through shocking and vivid imagery of butchery and cannibalism, a picture is painted of deep oppression. This rhetorical exaggeration illustrates how those in power completely drain and squeeze their victims. Some identify these victims as the poor and destitute of society [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ], while others point out that the targets are specifically the righteous people among the nation [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, חומת אנך].

The exploitation is a gradual and systematic process of robbery and abuse. Initially, the leaders are described as eating the flesh of the people [רש״י] and stripping the skin right off them [מצודת ציון]. This brutal stage symbolizes the theft of all the victims' visible property and wealth. Once there is nothing left to take on the surface, the oppression moves to an even crueler stage, targeting the very bones of the victims [מלבי״ם]. Some explain this simply as the breaking of their bones [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, the primary approach among commentators is that this refers to cracking the bones wide open. Just as one opens a mouth to sing, the leaders crack open the bones to search for and completely empty out the hidden marrow inside [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

Following this, the bones are sliced and chopped into small pieces [אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. These actions mirror the preparation of meat for cooking. The chopped pieces are then thrown into various pots and cauldrons, which are cooking vessels that differ mainly in their shape [רד״ק, מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא]. This double imagery highlights the extreme pressure applied to the victims. First, their bones are shattered into small enough pieces to fit into a standard pot. Then, they are boiled in a cauldron, a vessel where the stew reduces and boils with intense heat until every last drop of marrow is extracted. Through this cooking metaphor, the complete devastation of the oppressed is revealed, showing how they are squeezed of their money and physical strength until their spirits are utterly crushed [מלבי״ם].