Amos 8:4–7
Amos condemns those who rig the scales to take advantage of the poor
Study it word by word4Hear this, you who pant after the needy, and seek to bring to an end the poor of the land,
5saying, “When will the new moon be over, so that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, so that we may open the stores of wheat, to make small the ephah and make great the shekel, and to falsify scales of deceit,
6to buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and the refuse of the wheat we will sell?”
7YHWH has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget any of their deeds.
In its context
2And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” And YHWH said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will no longer pass by him.
3And the songs of the temple will wail on that day, declares Adonai YHWH; many will be the corpses; in every place they will be thrown out. Silence!”
…
8Will not the earth tremble on account of this, and everyone who lives in it mourn? And all of it will rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink like the Nile of Egypt.
9And it will happen on that day, declares Adonai YHWH, that I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.
Its words in the original
- שִׁמְעוּshimu· hear, listen, obey
Hear, listen. In the Bible listening truly includes paying heed; so it often means "obey". In the causative form, make heard, proclaim.
- שֹּׁאֲפִיםshoafim· pant, long for
To pant, to gasp; hence, to long for something, to pursue it eagerly.
- אֶבְיוֹןevyon· needy
Needy: one who depends on the help of others.
- שְׁבִּיתshebit· cease, rest
Cease, stop doing something; from there "rest". When God ceased from his work it was because he had finished it, not from weariness. The word "Sabbath" comes from this verb.
- עֲנִיֵּיaniye· poor, afflicted
Poor, afflicted: one who suffers need and has no one to defend him; also humble.
- אָרֶץarets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
- אמֹרmor· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
- מָתַיmatay· when?
When? How long?
- יַעֲבֹרyaavor· pass, cross over
Pass by, pass through, cross over; also go beyond, transgress (a command). In the causative form, make pass, bring across, take away.
- חֹדֶשׁchodesh· month, new moon
Month. The Hebrew month begins with the new moon; so the same word also means "new moon".
- נַשְׁבִּירָהnashbira· buy grain
Buy or sell grain.
- שֶּׁבֶרshever· grain
Grain bought or sold.
- שַּׁבָּתshabat· Sabbath
Sabbath: the seventh day, when work stops because it is set apart for God. The word comes from the verb "cease". It can also mean a week, or a sabbatical year (the land's rest).
- נִפְתְּחָהniftcha· open, engrave
Open; loosen, set free. In another form, engrave (cut lines in stone or metal).
- בָּרbar· grain
Grain: wheat or another cereal, threshed and clean.
- הַקְטִיןhaktin· be small, unworthy
Be small, of little account; make small. "I am too small for": I am unworthy of.
- אֵיפָהefa· ephah
Ephah: a measure for grain, about twenty-two liters; also a measure in general.
- הַגְדִּילhagdil· grow up, become great
Grow up, become great; in the causative form, make great, magnify; also be proud.
- שֶׁקֶלshekel· shekel
Shekel: a weight of about 11 grams. Since there were no coins, silver was weighed, so a shekel is also an amount of money.
- עַוֵּתavet· pervert, make crooked
To bend, to pervert; to make what is straight crooked. Said above all of justice and right.
- מֹאזְנֵיmozne· scales
A pair of scales.
- מִרְמָהmirma· deceit
Deceit, fraud, treachery.
- קְנוֹתkenot· acquire, buy
Acquire, get, buy; own. Sometimes "create" or "form".
- כֶּסֶףkesef· silver, money
Silver. Since payment was made by weighing silver, the word also means "money".
- דַּלִּיםdalim· poor, weak
Poor, weak: one who has little and little strength to defend himself.
- נַעֲלָיִםnaalayim· sandal
Sandal.
- מַפַּלmapal· folds, refuse
A hanging fold of flesh; also refuse of the grain.
- נִשְׁבַּעnishba· swear
Swear: bind oneself solemnly, calling on God as witness; in the causative form, make someone swear. In Hebrew the verb looks like the word "seven".
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- גְאוֹןgeon· majesty, pride
Majesty, greatness; in people, pride.
- יַעֲקֹבyaakov· Jacob
Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau and father of the twelve tribes. In Hebrew "Yaakov" sounds like "heel" and "supplant" (Genesis 25:26; 27:36). God later gave him the name Israel; the name also stands for his descendants, the people of Israel.
- אֶשְׁכַּחeshkach· forget
Forget.
- נֶצַחnetsach· splendor, forever, victory
A word with several senses: brightness or splendor, what endures (hence "forever"), firmness, victory. In 1 Samuel 15:29 it is a title of God, "the Splendor of Israel."
- מַעֲשֵׂיmaase· work, deed
Work, labor; what someone does or makes; a deed.