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Amos 8:4-7
Contemporary English Version
Amos 8:4-7
Contemporary English Version
Israel Is Doomed
The Lord said:
4 You people crush those in need
and wipe out the poor.
5 You say to yourselves,
“How much longer before the end
of the New Moon Festival?
When will the Sabbath[a] be over?
Our wheat is ready,
and we want to sell it now.
We can't wait to cheat
and charge high prices
for the grain we sell.
We will use dishonest scales
6 and mix dust in the grain.
Those who are needy and poor
don't have any money.
We will make them our slaves
for the price
of a pair of sandals.”
7 I, the Lord, won't forget
any of this,
though you take great pride
in your ancestor Jacob.[b]
Amos 8:4-7
New International Version
Amos 8:4-7
New International Version
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(C) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(D) wheat?”(E)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(F) with dishonest scales,(G)
6 buying the poor(H) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(I)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(J) “I will never forget(K) anything they have done.(L)
Amos 8:4-7
King James Version
Amos 8:4-7
King James Version
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5 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?
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
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Amos 8:8-12
Contemporary English Version
Amos 8:8-12
Contemporary English Version
8 Your country will tremble,
and you will mourn.
It will be like the Nile River
that rises and overflows,
then sinks back down.
9 On that day, I, the Lord God,
will make the sun
go down at noon,
and I will turn daylight
into darkness.
10 Your festivals and joyful singing
will turn into sorrow.
You will wear sackcloth[a]
and shave your heads,
as you would at the death
of your only son.
It will be a horrible day.
11 I, the Lord, also promise you
a terrible shortage,
but not of food and water.
You will hunger and thirst
to hear my message.
12 You will search everywhere—
from north to south,
from east to west.
You will go all over the earth,
seeking a message
from me, the Lord.
But you won't find one.
Footnotes
- 8.10 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
Amos 8:8-12
New International Version
Amos 8:8-12
New International Version
8 “Will not the land tremble(A) for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.(B)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(C)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(D) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(E)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(F)
and shave(G) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(H)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(I)
11 “The days are coming,”(J) declares the Sovereign Lord,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine(K) of hearing the words of the Lord.(L)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the Lord,
but they will not find it.(M)
Amos 8:8-12
King James Version
Amos 8:8-12
King James Version
8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
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Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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