7 See the note on the word “trample” in .
8 Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”
9 Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.
10 Heb “pass by.”
11 The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.
12 Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.
13 Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
14 Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.
15 Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; , “dishonest scales”; “false balances.” Rigged scales may refer to bending the crossbar or shifting the center point of the scales to make the amount weighed appear heavier than it actually was, thus cheating the buyer.
16 Heb “to buy the poor for silver.” The expression trade silver for the poor refers to the slave trade.
17 See the note on the word “sandals” in .
18 Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Hear this, you who trample on the needy

and bring the poor of the land to an end,

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,

that we may buy the poor for silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals

and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Hear this, you who trample the needy

and do away with the poor of the land,

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,

buying the poor with silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals,

selling even the sweepings with the wheat.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Hear this, you who trample on the needy

and do away with the poor of the land,

asking, “When will the New Moon be over

so we may sell grain,

and the Sabbath,

so we may market wheat?

We can reduce the measure

while increasing the price

and cheat with dishonest scales.

We can buy the poor with silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals

and even sell the chaff!”

NLTNew Living Translation

Listen to this, you who rob the poor

and trample down the needy!

You 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.

And 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.

Hear this, those who trample on the poor and who annihilate the afflicted of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over, so that we can sell grain? And the Sabbath, so that we can open the grain bins, that we can make the ephah small and make the shekel large, and can practice deceit with a set of scales of deceit? That we can buy the powerless with silver and the poor for the sake of a pair of sandals, and we can sell the waste of the grain?”

KJV 1900King James Version

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy,

Even to make the poor of the land to fail,

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?

That we may buy the poor for silver,

And the needy for a pair of shoes;

Yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

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Amos 8:4–6

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Footnotes