Amos 2:6
Konteks2:6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions 1 –
make that four! 2 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 3
They sold the innocent 4 for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals. 5
Amos 8:4-6
Konteks8:4 Listen to this, you who trample 6 the needy,
and do away with 7 the destitute in the land.
8:5 You say,
“When will the new moon festival 8 be over, 9 so we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath end, 10 so we can open up the grain bins? 11
We’re eager 12 to sell less for a higher price, 13
and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! 14
8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, 15
a pair of sandals 16 for the needy!
We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” 17
[2:6] 1 tn For this translation see the note at 2:4.
[2:6] 2 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Israel, even because of four.”
[2:6] sn On the three…four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2 see the note on the word “four” in 1:3. Only in this last oracle against Israel does one find the list of four specific violations expected based on the use of a similar formula elsewhere in wisdom literature (see Prov 30:18-19, 29-31). This adaptation of the normal pattern indicates the
[2:6] 3 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.
[2:6] 4 tn Or “honest” (CEV, NLT). The Hebrew word sometimes has a moral-ethical connotation, “righteous, godly,” but the parallelism (note “poor”) suggests a socio-economic or legal sense here. The practice of selling debtors as slaves is in view (Exod 21:2-11; Lev 25:35-55; Deut 15:12-18) See the note at Exod 21:8 and G. C. Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East (JSOTSup). Probably the only “crime” the victim had committed was being unable to pay back a loan or an exorbitant interest rate on a loan. Some have suggested that this verse refers to bribery in legal proceedings: The innocent are “sold” in the sense that those in power pay off the elders or judges for favorable decisions (5:12; cf. Exod 23:6-7).
[2:6] 5 tn Perhaps the expression “for a pair of sandals” indicates a relatively small price or debt. Some suggest that the sandals may have been an outward token of a more substantial purchase price. Others relate the sandals to a ritual attached to the transfer of property, signifying here that the poor would be losing their inherited family lands because of debt (Ruth 4:7; cf. Deut 25:8-10). Still others emend the Hebrew form slightly to נֶעְלָם (ne’lam, “hidden thing”; from the root עָלַם, ’alam, “to hide”) and understand this as referring to a bribe.
[8:4] 6 tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.
[8:4] 7 tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”
[8:5] 8 sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.
[8:5] 10 tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.
[8:5] 11 tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.
[8:5] 12 tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[8:5] 13 tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.
[8:5] 14 tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”
[8:5] sn Rigged scales may refer to bending the crossbar or shifting the center point of the scales to make the amount weighed appear heavier than it actually was, thus cheating the buyer.
[8:6] 15 tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”
[8:6] sn The expression trade silver for the poor refers to the slave trade.
