New Living Translation
Amos 8:4
4Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy!
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
2“What do you see, Amos?” he asked. I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.” Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again. 3In that day the singing in the temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy! 5You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales. 6And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor. Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.
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 then, listen to this message from the Lord: “You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people.’
- 1 Kings 22:19Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the Lord says! I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left.
- Isaiah 1:10Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”
- Isaiah 28:14Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 5:21Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.
- Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies.
- Amos 2:6This is what the Lord says: “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 5:11You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them.
- Psalms 12:5The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”
- Psalms 14:4Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.
- Psalms 56:1O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long.
- Psalms 140:12But I know the Lord will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor.
- Proverbs 30:14They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.
- Isaiah 32:6For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the Lord. They deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty.
- James 5:6You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do 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
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