20:1 Now King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled all his army, along with thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria 1 and besieged and attacked it. 2
2:5 “You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. 13 During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; 14 when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. 15
2:7 “Treat fairly 16 the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs, 17 because they helped me 18 when I had to flee from your brother Absalom.
4:1 King Solomon ruled over all Israel.
4:1 King Solomon ruled over all Israel.
7:14 Amos replied 22 to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. 23 No, 24 I was a herdsman who also took care of 25 sycamore fig trees. 26
1 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
2 tn Heb “and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it.”
3 tn This Hebrew architectural term occurs only here. The meaning is uncertain; some have suggested “banisters” or “parapets”; cf. TEV, NLT “railings.” The parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:11 has a different word, meaning “tracks,” or perhaps “steps.”
4 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither” [?]), and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
5 tn Heb “there has not come thus, the fine timber, and there has not been seen to this day.”
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew term חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or to the great wealth she brought with her.
8 tn Or “balsam oil.”
9 tn Heb “keep the charge of the
10 tn Heb “by walking in his ways.”
11 tn Or “keeping.”
12 tn Heb “then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there.”
13 tn Heb “what he did to the two commanders…and he killed them.”
14 tn Heb “he shed the blood of battle in peace.”
15 tn Heb “and he shed the blood of battle when he killed which is on his waist and on his sandal[s] which are on his feet.” That is, he covered himself with guilt and his guilt was obvious to all who saw him.
16 tn Heb “do loyalty with”; or “act faithfully toward.”
17 tn Heb “and let them be among the ones who eat [at] your table.”
18 tn Heb “drew near to.”
19 tn Or “kingship.”
20 tn Heb “set their face to me to be king.”
21 tn Heb “and the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s, for from the
22 tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.
23 tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.
24 tn Heb “for.”
25 tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”
26 sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).