Amos 8:5

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

3The songs of the palace will turn to wailing in that day,” declares the Lord God. “Many will be the corpses; in every place they will cast them forth in silence.” 4Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, 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, 6So as to buy the helpless for money And the needy for a pair of sandals, And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?” 7The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob, “Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds.

Amos 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
• be overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• So that we may sellשָׁבַרshâbar · to buy grainH7666
• grainשֶׁ֫בֶרsheber · grainH7668
• sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
• that we may openפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
• the wheatבַּרbâr bar · grainH1250
• To makeקָטֹןqâţôn · be smallH6994
• bushelאֵיפָה'êyphâh 'êphâh · ephahH374
• and the shekelשֶׁ֫קֶלsheqel · shekelH8255
• biggerגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431
• cheatעָוַת‛âvath · to pervertH5791
• dishonestמִרְמָהmirmâh · deceitH4820
• scalesמֹאזֵןmô'zên · balanceH3976

Cross-references for Amos 8:5

• Numbers 10:10Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”
• Numbers 28:11‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect;
• 2 Kings 4:23He said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.”
• Psalms 81:3Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast day.
• Isaiah 1:13Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
• Colossians 2:16Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--
• Malachi 1:13You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord.
• Exodus 20:8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
• Nehemiah 13:15In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.
• Isaiah 58:13“If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,
• Romans 8:6For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
• Leviticus 19:36You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin; I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 25:13“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small.
• Proverbs 11:1A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.
• Proverbs 16:11A just balance and scales belong to the Lord; All the weights of the bag are His concern.
• Proverbs 20:23Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, And a false scale 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

• Balances
• Dishonesty
• Measure
• Money
• Moon
• New Moon
• Oppression
• Sabbath
• Shekel

In the dictionaries

• New Moon
• Corn
• Amos (1)
• Balance
• Calf, Golden
• Commerce
• Ephah (2)
• Justice
• Moses
• 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