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Tuesday, August 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Myles Coverdale Bible

Hosea 12:7

But the marchaunt hath a false weight in his honde, he hath a pleasure to occupie extorcion.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Balances;   Commerce;   Dishonesty;   Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Measure;   Merchant;   Thompson Chain Reference - Business Life;   Dishonesty;   Vices;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Commerce;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Hosea;   Jeroboam;   Uzziah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Justice;   Violence;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Canaan;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Balances;   Canaan, History and Religion of;   History;   Hosea;   Merchant;   Weights and Measures;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Nations;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Canaanitish;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Balances;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Money;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Balance;   Canaan;   Commerce;   Hosea;   Trade;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Commerce;   Patience;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A merchant loves to extortwith dishonest scales in his hands.
Hebrew Names Version
A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud.
King James Version
He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
English Standard Version
A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.
New American Standard Bible
A merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent balances, Loves to exploit.
New Century Version
The merchants use dishonest scales; they like to cheat people.
Amplified Bible
A merchant, in whose hand are false and fraudulent balances; He loves to oppress and exploit.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He is Canaan: the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loueth to oppresse.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress.
Legacy Standard Bible
A merchant, in whose hands are deceptive balances,He loves to oppress.
Berean Standard Bible
A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
Contemporary English Version
Israel, you enjoy cheating and taking advantage of others.
Complete Jewish Bible
So you, return to your God; hold fast to grace and justice; and always put your hope in your God.
Darby Translation
[He is] a merchant, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loveth to oppress.
Easy-to-Read Version
"Jacob is a tricky merchant. He even cheats his friend! Even his scales lie.
George Lamsa Translation
The balances of deceit are in the hand of Canaan, he loves to oppress.
Good News Translation
The Lord says, "The people of Israel are as dishonest as the Canaanites; they love to cheat their customers with false scales.
Lexham English Bible
The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit; he loves to oppress.
Literal Translation
He is a merchant; the scales of deceit are in his hand; he loves to oppress.
American Standard Version
He is a trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
Bible in Basic English
As for Canaan, the scales of deceit are in his hands; he takes pleasure in twisted ways.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Therefore turn thou to thy God; keep mercy and justice, and wait for thy God continually.
King James Version (1611)
He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: hee loueth to oppresse.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
[He is] Chanaan, the ballaunces of deceipt are in his hande, he loueth to oppresse.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
As for Chanaan, in his hand is a balance of unrighteousness: he has loved to tyrannize.
English Revised Version
He is a trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
World English Bible
A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Chanaan louyde fals caleng, a gileful balaunce in his hond.
Update Bible Version
[He is] a trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loves to oppress.
Webster's Bible Translation
[He is] a merchant, the balances of deceit [are] in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
New English Translation
The businessmen love to cheat; they use dishonest scales.
New King James Version
"A cunning Canaanite! Deceitful scales are in his hand; He loves to oppress.
New Living Translation
But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales— they love to cheat.
New Life Bible
One who buys and sells and who lies about the weight of things loves to make it hard for others.
New Revised Standard
A trader, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A trafficker! in his hand, are balances of deceit, to oppress, he loveth.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He is like Chanaan, there is a deceitful balance in his hand, he hath loved oppression.
Revised Standard Version
A trader, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.
Young's Literal Translation
Canaan! in his hand [are] balances of deceit! To oppress he hath loved.
THE MESSAGE
The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud. They love to rip people off! Ephraim boasted, "Look, I'm rich! I've made it big! And look how well I've covered my tracks: not a hint of fraud, not a sign of sin!"

Contextual Overview

7 But the marchaunt hath a false weight in his honde, he hath a pleasure to occupie extorcion. 8 Ephraim thinketh thus: Tush, I am rich, I haue good ynough: In all my workes shal not one fawte be founde, that I haue offended. 9 Yet am I the LORDE thy God, eue as when I brought the out of the londe of Egipte, and set the in thy tentes, and as in the hye feast dayes. 10 I haue spoke thorow the prophetes, and shewed dyuerse visions, and declared my self by the ministracion of ye prophetes. 11 But at Galaad is the abhominacion, they are fallen to vanyte. At Galgal they haue slayne oxen: and as many heapes of stones as they had in their lode forowes, so many aulters haue they made. 12 Iacob fled into the londe of Siria, and Israel serued for a wife, and for a wife he kepte shepe. 13 By a prophet the LORDE brought them out of Egipte, and by a prophet he preserued the. 14 But Ephraim hath prouoked him to displeasure thorow his abhominacions: therfore shal his bloude be poured vpon him self, and the LORDE his God shal rewarde him his blasphemies.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a merchant: or, Canaan, Ezekiel 16:3, Zechariah 14:21, John 2:16

the balances: Leviticus 19:35, Leviticus 19:36, Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 16:11, Amos 8:5, Amos 8:6, Micah 6:10, Micah 6:11, 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 Timothy 6:10

he loveth: Isaiah 3:5, Ezekiel 22:29, Amos 2:7, Amos 3:9, Amos 4:1, Amos 5:11, Micah 2:1, Micah 3:1-3, Micah 7:2, Malachi 3:5, James 5:4

oppress: or, deceive, 1 Samuel 12:3

Reciprocal: Psalms 10:3 - and blesseth Psalms 36:2 - For he Psalms 52:7 - strengthened Psalms 73:12 - they Proverbs 20:14 - It is naught Proverbs 20:23 - a false balance Isaiah 10:14 - And my Isaiah 23:11 - against the merchant city Isaiah 23:17 - and she shall Jeremiah 5:27 - so are Jeremiah 17:11 - he that Ezekiel 18:12 - oppressed Ezekiel 28:5 - and by Ezekiel 28:16 - the multitude Hosea 11:12 - compasseth Zephaniah 1:11 - all the Mark 11:17 - a den Luke 19:46 - General Acts 19:25 - ye know Acts 24:26 - hoped Revelation 18:15 - which

Cross-References

Genesis 8:20
And Noe buylded an altare vnto ye LORDE, and toke of all maner of cleane beastes & of all maner of cleane foules, and offred bret sacrifices vpon ye altare.
Genesis 12:8
The brake he vp fro thece, vnto a mountayne yt laye on ye east syde of the cite of Bethel, & pitched his tent: so yt he had Bethel on the west side, and Ay on ye east syde: & there buylded he an altare also vnto the LORDE, & called vpon the name of the LORDE.
Genesis 12:9
Afterwarde departed Abram farther, & toke his iourneye southwarde.
Genesis 12:12
Now whan the Egipcians se the, they wil saye: She is his wife, and so shal they slaye me, and saue the alyue.
Genesis 13:4
euen vnto ye place where he had made the altare before, & where he called vpon the name of the LORDE
Genesis 13:15
for all the londe that thou seist, wyll I geue vnto the and to thy sede for euer,
Genesis 13:18
So Abram remoued his tent, and wente and dwelt in ye Okegroue of Mamre, which is in Ebron, and buylded there an altare vnto the LORDE.
Genesis 15:18
The same daye made the LORDE a couenaut with Abram, and sayde: Vnto thy sede wil I geue this lode, from the water of Egipte, vnto the greate water Euphrates:
Genesis 17:1
Now whan Abram was nyentye yeare olde and nyene, the LORDE appeared vnto him, & sayde vnto him: I am the allmightie God, walke before me, & be vncorrupte.
Genesis 17:3
Then fell Abram vpon his face.And God talked furthur, with him, and sayde:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

[He is] a merchant,.... Here is a change of person from "thou" to "he", from Judah to Ephraim, who is said to be a "merchant"; and if that was all, there is nothing worthy of dispraise in it; but he was a cheating merchant, a fraudulent dealer, as appears by what follows: or he is Canaan, or a Canaanite y; more like a descendant of Canaan, by his manners, than a descendant of Jacob. But the Canaanites dealing much in merchandise, their name became a common name for a merchant, as a Chaldean for an astrologer; and as the children of Israel possessed their land, so they followed the same business and employment of life; which, had they performed honestly, would not have been to their discredit; but they were too much like the Canaanites, of whom Philostratus z says, they were covetous and fraudulent; and this was Ephraim's character. The Targum is,

"be you not as merchants;''

the balances of deceit [are] in his hand; he used false weights and measures; made the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsified the balances by deceit; had wicked balances, and deceitful weights, and the scant measure, which is abominable, Amos 8:5; they pretended to weigh everything exactly they bought or sold; but cheated either by sleight or hand, holding the balances as they should not; or had one pair of scales and weights to buy with, and another to sell by, contrary to the law of God, Leviticus 19:35;

he loveth to oppress; instead of keeping and doing mercy and justice, they oppressed the poor, ground their faces, defrauded them of their due, and by secret and private methods cheated them in their dealings with them, and brought them to poverty and distress; and this they took delight and pleasure in, which showed a want of a principle of honesty in them, and that they were habituated to such a course of life, and were hardened in it, and had no remorse of conscience for it, but rather gloried in it.

y כנען χανααν, Sept. "Chanaan", V. L. Tigurine version; "Chanauaeum" refers, Munster. z Apud Grotium in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He is a merchant - Or, indignantly, “a merchant in whose hands are the balances of deceit!” How could they love “mercy and justice,” whose trade was “deceit,” who weighed out deceit with their goods? False in their dealings, in their weights and measures, and, by taking advantage of the necessities of others, oppressive also. Deceit is the sin of weakness oppression is the abuse of power. Wealth does not give the power to use naked violence but wealthy covetousness manifoldly grinds the poor. When for instance, wages are paid in necessaries priced exorbitantly, or when artisans are required to buy at a loss at their masters’ shops, what is it but the union of deceit and oppression? The trading world is full of oppression, scarcely veiled by deceit. “He loveth to oppress.” Deceit and oppression have, each, a devilish attractiveness to those practiced in them; deceit, as exercising cleverness, cunning, skill in overreaching, outwitting; oppression, as indulging self will, caprice, love of power, insolence, and the like vices. The word “merchant,” as the prophet spoke it, was “Canaan;” merchants being so called, because the Canaanites or Phoenicians were the then great merchant-people, as astrologers were called Chaldeans. The Phoenicians were, in Homer’s time, infamous for their griping in traffic. They are called “gnawers” and “money-lovers” . To call Israel, “Canaan,” was to deny to him any title to the name of Israel, “reversing the blessing of Jacob, so that, as it had been said of Jacob, “thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel,” he would in fact say, ‘Thy name shall be called no more Israel, but Canaan’; as being, through their deeds, heirs, not to the blessings of Israel but to the curse of Canaan.” So Ezekiel saith, “Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite” Ezekiel 16:3.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hosea 12:7. He is a merchant — Or a Canaanite; referring to the Phoenicians, famous for their traffic. Ephraim is as corrupt as those heathenish traffickers were. He kept, as many in all ages have done, a weight and a weight; a heavy one to buy with and a light one to sell by.


 
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