Amos 8:4

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 seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer-fruit. And Jehovah said unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more. 3And the songs of the palace shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah. The dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast forth. Silence! Hear this, ye that pant after the needy, even to cause to fail the poor of the land, 5saying, 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 for deceit: 6that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; and that we may sell the refuse of the wheat.

Amos 8:4 word by word

שִׁמְעוּ־זֹ֕את הַשֹּׁאֲפִ֖ים אֶבְי֑וֹן וְלַשְׁבִּ֖ית עֲנִיֵּי אָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

• Hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• needyאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for Amos 8:4

• Amos 7:16And now hear thou the word of Jehovah: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and utter not [words] against the house of Isaac.
• 1 Kings 22:19And he said, Hear therefore the word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right hand and on his left;
• Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!
• Isaiah 28:14Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 5:21Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not.
• Jeremiah 28:15And the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah, Hear now, Hananiah: Jehovah hath not sent thee; and thou makest this people to trust in falsehood.
• Amos 2:6Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;
• Amos 5:11Forasmuch, therefore, as ye trample upon the poor, and take from him presents of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, and ye shall not drink the wine of them.
• Psalms 12:5Because of the oppression of the afflicted, because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith Jehovah, I will set [him] in safety, at whom they puff.
• Psalms 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, eating up my people [as] they eat bread? They call not upon Jehovah.
• Psalms 56:1Be gracious unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: all the day long fighting he oppresseth me.
• Psalms 140:12I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the afflicted one, the right of the needy.
• Proverbs 30:14— a generation whose teeth are swords, and their jaw-teeth knives, to devour the afflicted from off the earth, and the needy from [among] men.
• Isaiah 32:6for the vile man will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
• James 5:6ye have condemned, ye have killed the just; he does not resist you.

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

• Oppression
• Poor

In the dictionaries

• Amos (1)
• Calf, Golden
• Meekness
• Poverty

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