Amos 2:8

they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.


God’s Law placed restrictions on items which could be taken as collateral. Millstones were not to be taken since they were needed for grinding grain and thus were essential to sustaining life (Deut. 24:6). The cloak of a poor man was not to be kept as a pledge overnight (Ex. 22:26-27; Deut. 24:10-13; also note Job 22:6); a widow’s garment could not be taken in pledge at all (Deut. 24:17). Yet the people openly and flagrantly were lying down with the forbidden garments, going so far in their contempt for the Law as to spread them at the sacrificial feasts by every altar (cf. 1 Sam. 9:12-13).