Amplified Bible
Amos 8:4
4Hear this, you who trample down the needy, and do away with the poor of the land,
Amos 8:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
- New International Version (NIV)Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,
Context of Amos 8:4
2And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel. I will spare them no longer [for the nation is ripe for judgment]. 3In that day, the songs of the palace shall turn to wailing,” says the Lord God. “There will be many dead bodies; in [sacred] silence they will throw them everywhere.” Hear this, you who trample down the needy, and do away with the poor of the land, 5saying, “When will the New Moon [festival] be over So that we may sell grain, And the Sabbath ended so that we may open the wheat market, Making the ephah [measure] smaller and the shekel bigger [that is, selling less for a higher price] And to cheat by falsifying the scales, 6So that we may buy the poor [as slaves] for silver [since they are unable to support themselves] And the needy for a pair of sandals, And that we may sell the leftovers of the wheat [as if it were a good grade of grain]?”
Read all of Amos 8Amos 8:4 word by word
שִׁמְעוּ־זֹ֕את הַשֹּׁאֲפִ֖ים אֶבְי֑וֹן וְלַשְׁבִּ֖ית עֲנִיֵּי אָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Amos 8:4
- Amos 7:16Now therefore, listen to the word of the Lord: You say, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’
- 1 Kings 22:19Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host (army) of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left.
- Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of the Lord [rulers of Jerusalem], You rulers of [another] Sodom, Listen to the law and instruction of our God, You people of [another] Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 28:14Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you arrogant men Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem!
- Jeremiah 5:21‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.
- Jeremiah 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.
- Amos 2:6Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they sell the righteous and innocent for silver And the needy for the price of a pair of sandals.
- Amos 5:11Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poor And demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them, Though you have built [luxurious] houses of square stone, You will not live in them; You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.
- Psalms 12:5“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
- Psalms 14:4Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon the Lord?
- Psalms 56:1Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled on me; All day long the adversary oppresses and torments me.
- Psalms 140:12I know [with confidence] that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, And [will secure] justice for the poor.
- Proverbs 30:14There is a generation (class of people) whose teeth are like swords And whose jaw teeth are like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men.
- Isaiah 32:6For the fool speaks nonsense, And his heart (mind) plans wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error concerning the Lord, To keep the craving of the hungry unsatisfied And to deprive the thirsty of drink.
- Matthew 23:14[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]
- James 5:6You have condemned and have put to death the righteous man; he offers you no resistance.
Commentaries on Amos 8:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy - Ye that bruise the poor; exact from them, and tread them under foot.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Here ye this, ye that swallow - Or, better in the same sense, “that pant for the needy;” as Job says, “the hireling panteth for the evening” Job 7:2. They “panted for the poor,” as the wild beast for its prey; and “that to make the poor” or (better, as the Hebrew text,) “the meek”, those not poor only, but who, through poverty and affliction, are “poor in spirit” also, “to fail.” The land being divided among all the inhabitants, they, in order “to lay…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-10Verses 4-10 The rich and powerful of the land were the most guilty of oppression, as well as the foremost in idolatry. They were weary of the restraints of the sabbaths and the new moons, and wished them over, because no common work might be done therein. This is the character of many who are called Christians. The sabbath day and sabbath work are a burden to carnal hearts. It will either be profaned or be accounted a dull day. But can we spend our time…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-14This section provides more details on the accusations and decisions mentioned earlier (read with Amos 2:6–6:14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Hear--The nobles needed to be urged thus, as hating to hear reproof. swallow up the needy--or, "gape after," that is, pant for their goods; so the word is used, Job 7:2, Margin. to make the poor ... to fail--"that they (themselves) may be placed alone in the midst of the earth" (Is 5:8).Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 8:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Amos 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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