Amos 8:5

“Saying, when will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? etc.] 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 <120423>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 found what to eat in the fields; when they gleaned there, and got a sufficiency of bread, and so had no need to buy corn; and hence these rich misers, that hoarded up the grain, are represented as…”

“So greedy are they of unjust gain that they cannot spare a single day, however sacred, from pursuing it. They are strangers to God and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than sabbath days; and they who have lost piety will not long keep honesty. The new-2moons (Num 10:10) and sabbaths were to be kept without working or trading (Neh 10:31). set forth wheat--literally, "open out" stores of wheat for sale. ephah--containing three seahs, or above three pecks. making . . . small--making it below the just weight to purchasers. shekel great--taking from purchasers a greater weight of money than was due. Shekels used to be weighed out in payments (Gen 23:16). Thus they committed a…”

“When will the new moon be gone? - They kept their festivals, though weary and impatient for their close. They kept sabbath and festival with their bodies, not with their minds. The Psalmist said, “When shall I come to appear before the presencc of God?” Psalms 42:2. These said, perhaps in their hearts only which God reads to them, “when will this service be over, that we may be our own masters again?” They loathed the rest of the sabbath, because they had, thereon, to rest from their frauds. He instances “the new moons” and “sabbaths,” because these, recurring weekly or monthly, were a regular hindrance to their covetousness. The “ephah” was a measure containing 72 Roman pints or nearly 1…”

“When - Ye that could wish there were nothing to interrupt your marketing, that look on solemn times of worship as burdensome, such was the first day of every month, and the weekly sabbath. Small - So the ephah being too little, the poor buyer had not his due. The shekel great - They weighed the money which they received, and had no more justice, than to make their shekel weight greater than the standard; so the poor were twice oppressed, had less than was their right, and paid more than they ought to pay. Amos 8:6”

“8:5 Work was explicitly forbidden on the Sabbath day (Exod 20:9-10); Amos implies that shops were closed during pagan new-moon religious festivals as well. • Merchants were cheating their customers by measuring grain with small ephahs and cheating their suppliers by using heavy shekels on the scales. This practice was forbidden by God’s law (Lev 19:35-36; Deut 25:13-16; see Prov 11:1; 16:11; 20:10, 23).”

“When: Num 10:10, Num 28:11-15; Kg2 4:23; Psa 81:3, Psa 81:4; Isa 1:13; Col 2:16 new moon: or, month be gone: Mal 1:13 and the: Exo 20:8-10; Neh 13:15-21; Isa 58:13; Rom 8:6, Rom 8:7 set forth: Heb. open making: Lev 19:36; Deu 25:13-16; Pro 11:1, Pro 16:11, Pro 20:23; Eze 45:10-12; Mic 6:10, Mic 6:11 falsifying the balances by deceit: Heb. perverting the balances of deceit, Hos 12:7 Amos 8:6”