Micah exposes the leaders’ inexcusable failure by framing their duty as a question rather than direct accusation, forcing them to confront the obvious answer that yes, they should know justice, making their corruption all the more condemnable.

The text records no verbal response from the leaders, though Micah immediately follows with graphic accusations that they hate good, love evil, and devour the people like meat in a pot, suggesting their silence confirmed their guilt.

Micah’s question cuts with rhetorical precision because everyone knows the answer is yes. The Hebrew construction lo’ lakem lada’at (is it not for you to know) emphasizes both obligation and irony; these leaders whose very position requires knowing mishpat have become ignorant of justice itself. By asking rather than declaring their guilt, Micah forces self-examination and removes any excuse. The verb yada (to know) means more than intellectual awareness; it implies intimate familiarity and practical application. These leaders should know justice the way a craftsman knows his trade, yet they’ve become strangers to the very thing that defines their calling. This question sets up the brutal imagery that follows in verses 2-3, where Micah describes them as cannibals devouring God’s people. The theological weight is devastating: those appointed to represent God’s righteousness have become agents of injustice, perverting the covenant order and inviting divine judgment on the entire nation.