Amos 8:4-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Amos 8:4-10

God is here contending with proud oppressors, and showing them, I. The heinousness of the sin they were guilty of; in short, they had the character of the unjust judge (Luke 18:2) that neither feared God nor regarded man. 1. Observe them in their devotions, and you will say, ?They had no reverence for God.? Bad as they are, they do indeed keep up a show and form of godliness; they observe the sabbath and the new moon; they put some difference between those days and other days, but they were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 8:4

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy ,.... Like a man that pants after a draught of water when thirsty; and, when he has got it, greedily swallows it down at one gulp; so these rich men swallowed up the poor, their labours, gains, and profits, and persons too; got all into their own hands, and made them bondsmen and slaves to them; see Amos 2:7 ; these are called upon to hear this dreadful calamity threatened, and to consider what then would become of them and their ill gotten riches;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 8:5

Saying, when will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn ?.... The first day of every month, on which it was forbid to sell any thing, or do any worldly business, being appointed and used for religious service; see 2 Kings 4:23 ; and which these carnal earthly minded men were weary of, and wanted to have over, that they might be selling their grain, and getting money, which they preferred to the worship of God. Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of the month of harvest, when the poor... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 8:6

That we may buy the poor for silver ,.... Thus making them pay dear for their provisions, and using them in this fraudulent manner, by which they would not be able to support themselves and their families; they might purchase them and theirs for slaves, at so small a price as a piece of silver, or a single shekel, worth about half a crown; and this was their end and design in using them after this manner; see Leviticus 25:39 ; and the needy for a pair of shoes ; See Gill on Amos 2:6 ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 8:7

The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob ,.... Not by the ark, as R. Japhet; nor by the temple, as Kimchi; but by himself; which sense Kimchi also mentions, and Aben Ezra; the God of Jacob and his glory, the most excellent of all Jacob's enjoyments, and of whom he had reason to boast and glory; see Amos 6:8 ; surely I will never forget any of their works ; their wicked works, especially those now mentioned; God forgets when he forgives them, or suffers them to go unpunished; but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 8:8

Shall not the land tremble for this ,.... For this wickedness committed, in using the poor with so much inhumanity? may not an earthquake be expected? and which happened two years after Amos began to prophesy, Amos 1:1 ; or that the earth should gape and swallow up these men alive, guilty of such enormities? or shall not the inhabitants of the land tremble at such judgments, which the Lord hath sworn he will bring upon it? and everyone mourn that dwelleth therein ? at the hearing of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 8:4

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy - Ye that bruise the poor; exact from them, and tread them under foot. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 8:5

When will the new moon be gone - This was kept as a kind of holy day, not by Divine command, but by custom. The Sabbath was strictly holy; and yet so covetous were they that they grudged to give to God and their own souls this seventh portion of time! But bad and execrable as they were, they neither set forth their corn, nor their wheat, nor any other kind of merchandise, on the Sabbath. They were saints then, when compared to multitudes called Christians, who keep their shops either... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 8:6

That we may buy the poor for silver - Buying their services for such a time, with just money enough to clear them from other creditors. And the needy for a pair of shoes - See Amos 2:6 . And sell the refuse of the wheat! - Selling bad wheat and damaged flour to poor people as good, knowing that such cannot afford to prosecute them. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 8:7

By the excellency of Jacob - By the state of eminence to which he had raised the descendants of Jacob; or, by the excellent One of Jacob, that is, Himself. The meaning is: "As surely as I have raised you to such a state of eminence, so surely will I punish you in proportion to your advantages and your crimes." read more

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