Amos 8:5

You say, “When will the new moon festival ¹  be over, ²  so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, ³  so we can open up the grain bins? ⁴  We’re eager ⁵  to sell less for a higher price, ⁶  and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ⁷ 

biblegateway Amo 8:5

saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?"— skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales,

biblegateway Amo 8:5

saying, "When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales,

biblegateway Amo 8:5

You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out your grain in false measures and weigh it out on dishonest scales.

biblegateway Amo 8:5

Who say, "When's my next paycheck coming so I can go out and live it up? How long till the weekend when I can go out and have a good time?" Who give little and take much, and never do an honest day's work.

SABDAweb Amo 8:5

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, so that we may do trade in grain? and the Sabbath, so that we may put out in the market the produce of our fields? making the measure small and the price great, and trading falsely with scales of deceit;

bibleoremus Amo 8:5

saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,

biblegateway Amo 8:5

Saying: "When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit,

biblegateway Amo 8:5

You say, “When will the new moon festival ¹  be over, ²  so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, ³  so we can open up the grain bins? ⁴  We’re eager ⁵  to sell less for a higher price, ⁶  and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ⁷ 

¹ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

² tn Heb “pass by.”

³ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

⁴ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

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

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

⁷ sn Rigged scales may refer to bending the crossbar or shifting the center point of the scales to make the amount weighed appear heavier than it actually was, thus cheating the buyer.