American Standard Version
Amos 8:5
5saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;
Amos 8:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
- New International Version (NIV)saying, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”— skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales,
- English Standard Version (ESV)saying, "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances,
- New King James Version (NKJV)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,
Context of Amos 8:5
3And the songs of the temple shall be wailings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah: the dead bodies shall be many; in every place shall they cast them forth with silence. 4Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit; 6that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat? 7Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
Read all of Amos 8Amos 8:5 word by word
לֵאמֹ֗ר מָתַ֞י יַעֲבֹ֤ר הַחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ וְנַשְׁבִּ֣ירָה שֶּׁ֔בֶר וְהַשַּׁבָּ֖ת וְנִפְתְּחָה־בָּ֑ר לְהַקְטִ֤ין אֵיפָה֙ וּלְהַגְדִּ֣יל שֶׁ֔קֶל וּלְעַוֵּ֖ת מֹאזְנֵ֥י מִרְמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Whenמָתַיmâthay · howH4970
- newחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · month: new moonH2320
- moonחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · month: new moonH2320
- sellשָׁבַרshâbar · to buy grainH7666
- grainבַּרbâr bar · grainH1250
- sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
- ephahאֵיפָה'êyphâh 'êphâh · ephahH374
- smallקָטֹןqâţôn · be smallH6994
- shekelשֶׁ֫קֶלsheqel · shekelH8255
- greatגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431
- deceitמִרְמָהmirmâh · deceitH4820
Cross-references for Amos 8:5
- Numbers 10:10Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God: I am Jehovah your God.
- Numbers 28:11And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt-offering unto Jehovah: two young bullocks, and one ram, seven he-lambs a year old without blemish;
- 2 Kings 4:23And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
- Psalms 81:3Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast-day.
- Isaiah 1:13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies,—I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.
- Colossians 2:16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day:
- Malachi 1:13Ye say also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith Jehovah of hosts; and ye have brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye bring the offering: should I accept this at your hand? saith Jehovah.
- Exodus 20:8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Nehemiah 13:15In those days saw I in Judah some men treading winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses therewith; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
- Isaiah 58:13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
- Romans 8:6For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
- Leviticus 19:36Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 25:13Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small.
- Proverbs 11:1A false balance is an abomination to Jehovah; But a just weight is his delight.
- Proverbs 16:11A just balance and scales are Jehovah’s; All the weights of the bag are his work.
- Proverbs 20:23Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah; And a false balance is not good.
Commentaries on Amos 8:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5When will the new moon be gone - This was kept as a kind of holy day, not by Divine command, but by custom. The Sabbath was strictly holy; and yet so covetous were they that they grudged to give to God and their own souls this seventh portion of time! But bad and execrable as they were, they neither set forth their corn, nor their wheat, nor any other kind of merchandise, on the Sabbath. They were saints then, when compared to multitudes called…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5When will the new moon be gone? - They kept their festivals, though weary and impatient for their close. They kept sabbath and festival with their bodies, not with their minds. The Psalmist said, “When shall I come to appear before the presencc of God?” Psalm 42:2. These said, perhaps in their hearts only which God reads to them, “when will this service be over, that we may be our own masters again?” They loathed the rest of the sabbath, because they had…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. 5Work was strictly forbidden on the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:9–10). Amos suggests that shops also closed during pagan new-moon religious festivals. Merchants cheated their customers by using small ephahs (containers for measuring grain), so buyers received less than they paid for. They also cheated their suppliers by using heavy shekels (weights of silver) on their scales, so sellers received less payment. God’s law clearly forbade these dishonest practices…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. So greedy are they of unjust gain that they cannot spare a single day, however sacred, from pursuing it. They are strangers to God and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than sabbath days; and they who have lost piety will not long keep honesty. The new moons (Nu 10:10) and sabbaths were to be kept without working or trading (Ne 10:31). set forth wheat--literally, "open out" stores of wheat for sale. ephah--containing three seahs, or…Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 8:5
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries