1:14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s 1 city wall; 2
fire 3 will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle; 4
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. 5
3:14 “Certainly when 6 I punish Israel for their 7 covenant transgressions, 8
I will destroy 9 Bethel’s 10 altars.
The horns 11 of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
6:14 “Look! I am about to bring 12 a nation against you, family 13 of Israel.”
The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress 14 you all the way from Lebo-Hamath 15 to the Stream of the Arabah.” 16
7:1 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw 17 him making locusts just as the crops planted late 18 were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest. 19 )
9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 20 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 21 on the earth. 22
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching 23 the sinful nation, 24
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family 25 of Jacob,” says the Lord.
1 sn Rabbah was the Ammonite capital.
2 sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
3 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “with a war cry in the day of battle.”
5 tn Heb “with wind in the day of the windstorm.”
6 tn Heb “in the day.”
7 tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.
8 tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.
9 tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).
10 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
11 sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the
11 tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); NIV “stir up.”
12 tn Heb “house.”
13 sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ’ashaq).
14 tn Or “from the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name.
15 sn Lebo-Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the Stream of the Arabah to its southern border. See 2 Kgs 14:25. Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.
16 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
17 sn The crops planted late (consisting of vegetables) were planted in late January-early March and sprouted in conjunction with the spring rains of March-April. For a discussion of the ancient Israelite agricultural calendar, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 31-44.
18 tn Or “the mowings of the king.”
21 tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).
22 tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.
23 sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.
26 tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign
27 tn Or “kingdom.”
28 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).