New King James Version
Amos 8:4
4Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,
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 Living Translation (NLT)Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy!
Context of Amos 8:4
2And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me: “The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. 3And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day,” Says the Lord God— “Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in silence.” Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail, 5Saying: “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, 6That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell the bad wheat?”
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, hear the word of the Lord: You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’
- 1 Kings 22:19Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.
- Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:
- Isaiah 28:14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
- Jeremiah 5:21‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
- Jeremiah 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.
- Amos 2:6Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 5:11Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them.
- Psalms 12:5“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
- Psalms 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord?
- Psalms 56:1Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me.
- Psalms 140:12I know that the Lord will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.
- Proverbs 30:14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.
- Isaiah 32:6For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the Lord, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
- Matthew 23:14Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- James 5:6You have condemned, you have murdered 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries