Amos 8:4 · KJV
“Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,”
— Amos 8:4
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. {shall be howlings: Heb. shall howl} {with...: Heb. be silent}
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? {new...: or, month} {set...: Heb. open} {falsifying...: Heb. perverting the balances of deceit}
Amos 8 — Context
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.
3And 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. {shall be howlings: Heb. shall howl} {with...: Heb. be silent}
4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5Saying, 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? {new...: or, month} {set...: Heb. open} {falsifying...: Heb. perverting the balances of deceit}
6That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; {yea}, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
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.
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.
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. {pleasant...: Heb. vineyards of desire}
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.
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. {puffeth...: or, would ensnare him}
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;
Psalms 140:12
I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, {and} the right of the poor.
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.