Hear this, (A)you who trample on the needy
    and bring the poor of the land to an end,
saying, “When will (B)the new moon be over,
    that we may sell grain?
And (C)the Sabbath,
    that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make (D)the ephah small and the shekel[a] great
    and deal deceitfully with false balances,
that we may buy the poor for (E)silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals
    and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

The Lord has sworn by (F)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (G)I will never forget any of their deeds.
(H)Shall not the land tremble on this account,
    and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
(I)and all of it rise like the Nile,
    and be tossed about (J)and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”

“And on that day,” declares the Lord God,
    (K)“I will make the sun go down at noon
    and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 (L)I will turn your feasts into mourning
    and all your songs into lamentation;
(M)I will bring sackcloth on every waist
    (N)and baldness on every head;
(O)I will make it like the mourning for an only son
    and the end of it like a bitter day.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:5 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

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