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?”

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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

“Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy,
    who intend to make the poor of the land fail,
and who are saying,
    ‘When will the New Moon fade
        so we may sell grain,
    and the Sabbath conclude[a]
        so we may market winnowed wheat?—
shortchanging the measure,[b]
    raising the price,
        falsifying the scales by treachery,
buying the poor for cash,[c]
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
        selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:5 The Heb. lacks conclude
  2. Amos 8:5 The Heb. ephah
  3. Amos 8:6 Lit. silver