Amos 8:4-10

4 Hear this, 1you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, "When will 2the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And 3the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make 4the ephah small and the shekel[a] great and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for 5silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?"
7 The LORD has sworn by 6the pride of Jacob: "Surely 7I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 8Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it, 9and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about 10and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?"
9 "And on that day," declares the Lord GOD, 11"I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 12I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; 13I will bring sackcloth on every waist 14and baldness on every head; 15I will make it like the mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.

Amos 8:4-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 8

In this chapter a fourth vision is delivered, the vision of a "basket of summer fruit"; signifying the destruction of the ten tribes, for which they were ripe, and which would quickly come upon them, Am 8:1-3; the rich are reproved for their oppression of the poor, their covetousness and earthly mindedness, Am 8:4-6; for which they are threatened with entire ruin, sudden calamities, and very mournful times, instead of light, joy, and gladness, Am 8:7-10; and particularly with a famine of hearing the word of God, Am 8:11,12; the consequence of which would be, a fainting of the young men and virgins for thirst, and the utter and irrecoverable ruin of all idolaters, Am 8:13,14.

Cross References 15

  • 1. [Psalms 14:4]
  • 2. See Numbers 28:11
  • 3. [Nehemiah 13:15, 16]
  • 4. Ezekiel 45:10; Micah 6:10, 11; See Hosea 12:7
  • 5. Amos 2:6
  • 6. Amos 6:8
  • 7. Hosea 8:13; Hosea 9:9
  • 8. [Hosea 4:3]
  • 9. Amos 9:5
  • 10. [Zechariah 10:11]
  • 11. Jeremiah 15:9; Micah 3:6; Matthew 24:29; [Amos 4:13; Amos 5:8]
  • 12. [Jeremiah 7:34; Jeremiah 16:9; Hosea 2:11]
  • 13. Isaiah 3:24
  • 14. Isaiah 3:24
  • 15. Jeremiah 6:26; Zechariah 12:10

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.