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.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.

NLTNew Living Translation

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.

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?

KJV 1900King James Version

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?

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Amos 8:5

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