Isaiah 58:4

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ¹  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ² 

Do not fast as you do today,

trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

Exodus 5:14

5:14 The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked, ³  “Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past – both yesterday and today?” ⁴ 

Amos 2:6-7

God Will Judge Israel

2:6 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions ⁵  –

make that four! ⁶  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ⁷ 

They sold the innocent ⁸  for silver,

the needy for a pair of sandals. ⁹ 

2:7 They trample ¹⁰  on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; ¹¹ 

they push the destitute away. ¹² 

A man and his father go to the same girl; ¹³ 

in this way they show disrespect ¹⁴  for my moral purity. ¹⁵ 

Amos 8:4-6

8:4 Listen to this, you who trample ¹⁶  the needy,

and do away with ¹⁷  the destitute in the land.

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ¹⁸  be over, ¹⁹  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ²⁰  so we can open up the grain bins? ²¹ 

We’re eager ²²  to sell less for a higher price, ²³ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ²⁴ 

8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, ²⁵ 

a pair of sandals ²⁶  for the needy!

We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” ²⁷ 

Micah 3:2-3

3:2 yet you ²⁸  hate what is good, ²⁹ 

and love what is evil. ³⁰ 

You flay my people’s skin ³¹ 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ³² 

3:3 You ³³  devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot ³⁴  –

like meat in a kettle.

[58:4]  ¹ tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ² tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”

[5:14]  ³ tn The quotation is introduced with the common word לֵאמֹר (le’mor, “saying”) and no mention of who said the question.

[5:14]  ⁴ sn The idioms for time here are found also in 3:10 and 5:7-8. This question no doubt represents many accusations shouted at Israelites during the period when it was becoming obvious that, despite all their efforts, they were unable to meet their quotas as before.

[2:6]  ⁵ tn For this translation see the note at 2:4.

[2:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Israel, even because of four.”

[2:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[2:6]  ⁸ tn Or “honest” (CEV, NLT). The Hebrew word sometimes has a moral-ethical connotation, “righteous, godly,” but the parallelism (note “poor”) suggests a socio-economic or legal sense here. The practice of selling debtors as slaves is in view (Exod 21:2-11; Lev 25:35-55; Deut 15:12-18) See the note at Exod 21:8 and G. C. Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East (JSOTSup). Probably the only “crime” the victim had committed was being unable to pay back a loan or an exorbitant interest rate on a loan. Some have suggested that this verse refers to bribery in legal proceedings: The innocent are “sold” in the sense that those in power pay off the elders or judges for favorable decisions (5:12; cf. Exod 23:6-7).

[2:6]  ⁹ tn Perhaps the expression “for a pair of sandals” indicates a relatively small price or debt. Some suggest that the sandals may have been an outward token of a more substantial purchase price. Others relate the sandals to a ritual attached to the transfer of property, signifying here that the poor would be losing their inherited family lands because of debt (Ruth 4:7; cf. Deut 25:8-10). Still others emend the Hebrew form slightly to נֶעְלָם (ne’lam, “hidden thing”; from the root עָלַם, ’alam, “to hide”) and understand this as referring to a bribe.

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn Most scholars now understand this verb as derived from the root II שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to crush; to trample”), an alternate form of שׁוּף (shuf), rather than from I שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to pant, to gasp”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[2:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who stomp on the dirt of the ground on the head of the poor.” It is possible to render the line as “they trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground,” thereby communicating that the poor are being stepped on in utter contempt (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 79-80). The participial form הַשֹּׁאֲפִים (hasho’afim) is substantival and stands in apposition to the pronominal suffix on מִכְרָם (mikhram, v. 6b).

[2:7]  ¹² tn Heb “they turn aside the way of the destitute.” Many interpreters take “way” to mean “just cause” and understand this as a direct reference to the rights of the destitute being ignored. The injustice done to the poor is certainly in view, but the statement is better taken as a word picture depicting the powerful rich pushing the “way of the poor” (i.e., their attempt to be treated justly) to the side. An even more vivid picture is given in Amos 5:12, where the rich are pictured as turning the poor away from the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[2:7]  ¹³ sn Most interpreters see some type of sexual immorality here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), even though the Hebrew phrase הָלַךְ אֶל (halakh ’el, “go to”) never refers elsewhere to sexual intercourse. (The usual idiom is בוֹא אֶל [bo’ ’el]. However, S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 82) attempts to develop a linguistic case for a sexual connotation here.) The precise identification of the “girl” in question is not clear. Some see the referent as a cultic prostitute (cf. NAB; v. 8 suggests a cultic setting), but the term נַעֲרָה (na’arah) nowhere else refers to a prostitute. Because of the contextual emphasis on social oppression, some suggest the exploitation of a slave girl is in view. H. Barstad argues that the “girl” is the hostess at a pagan מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh) banquet (described at some length in 6:4-7). In his view the sin described here is not sexual immorality, but idolatry (see H. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos [VTSup], 33-36). In this case, one might translate, “Father and son go together to a pagan banquet.” In light of this cultic context, F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman argue that this is a reference to a specific female deity (“the Girl”) and correlate this verse with 8:14 (Amos [AB], 318-19).

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “pollute”; “desecrate”; “dishonor.”

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my holy name.” Here “name” is used metonymically for God’s moral character or reputation, while “holy” has a moral and ethical connotation.

[8:4]  ¹⁶ tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.

[8:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”

[8:5]  ¹⁸ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ²⁰ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ²² tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[8:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”

[8:6]  ²⁶ tn See the note on the word “sandals” in 2:6.

[8:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”

[3:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ³⁰ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ³² tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[3:3]  ³³ tn Heb “who.”

[3:3]  ³⁴ tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).