Amos 8:4

Poverty and the vulnerable Justice Money and wealth

² And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

³ And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

⁵ 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?

⁶ That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land,
KJV: Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
WEB: Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail,
ASV: Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail,
DARBY: Hear this, ye that pant after the needy, even to cause to fail the poor of the land,
BLB: Hear this, those swallowing up the needy and causing to cease the poor of the land,

ÅB: Hør dette, dere som higer etter å oppsluke den fattige og gjøre ende på de saktmodige i landet,
OTB: Hør dette, dere som tramper på de trengende og eliminerer de ydmyke i landet,
B1930: Hør dette, I som higer efter å opsluke den fattige og gjøre ende på de saktmodige i landet,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Proverbs 30:14
There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
Read in context
Amos 5:11
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
Read in context
Psalms 14:4
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
Read in context
Isaiah 32:6–7
For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Read in context
Psalms 12:5
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
Read in context
Psalms 140:12
I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
Read in context
Amos 2:6–7
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
Read in context
Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Read in context