Amos 8:4-6

8:4 Listen to this, you who trample ¹  the needy,

and do away with ²  the destitute in the land.

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ³  be over, ⁴  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ⁵  so we can open up the grain bins? ⁶ 

We’re eager ⁷  to sell less for a higher price, ⁸ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ⁹ 

8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, ¹⁰ 

a pair of sandals ¹¹  for the needy!

We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” ¹² 

[8:4]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.

[8:4]  ² tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”

[8:5]  ³ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ⁵ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ⁷ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

[8:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[8:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”

[8:6]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “sandals” in 2:6.

[8:6]  ¹² tn Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”