2:7 They trample 1 on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; 2
they push the destitute away. 3
A man and his father go to the same girl; 4
in this way they show disrespect 5 for my moral purity. 6
10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 7 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 8
29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, 9
who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate 10
and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. 11
ל (Lamed)
3:34 To crush underfoot
all the earth’s prisoners, 12
3:5 “I 13 will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, 14 and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, 15 who refuse to help 16 the immigrant 17 and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
1 tn Most scholars now understand this verb as derived from the root II שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to crush; to trample”), an alternate form of שׁוּף (shuf), rather than from I שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to pant, to gasp”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).
2 tn Heb “those who stomp on the dirt of the ground on the head of the poor.” It is possible to render the line as “they trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground,” thereby communicating that the poor are being stepped on in utter contempt (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 79-80). The participial form הַשֹּׁאֲפִים (hasho’afim) is substantival and stands in apposition to the pronominal suffix on מִכְרָם (mikhram, v. 6b).
3 tn Heb “they turn aside the way of the destitute.” Many interpreters take “way” to mean “just cause” and understand this as a direct reference to the rights of the destitute being ignored. The injustice done to the poor is certainly in view, but the statement is better taken as a word picture depicting the powerful rich pushing the “way of the poor” (i.e., their attempt to be treated justly) to the side. An even more vivid picture is given in Amos 5:12, where the rich are pictured as turning the poor away from the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).
4 sn Most interpreters see some type of sexual immorality here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), even though the Hebrew phrase הָלַךְ אֶל (halakh ’el, “go to”) never refers elsewhere to sexual intercourse. (The usual idiom is בוֹא אֶל [bo’ ’el]. However, S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 82) attempts to develop a linguistic case for a sexual connotation here.) The precise identification of the “girl” in question is not clear. Some see the referent as a cultic prostitute (cf. NAB; v. 8 suggests a cultic setting), but the term נַעֲרָה (na’arah) nowhere else refers to a prostitute. Because of the contextual emphasis on social oppression, some suggest the exploitation of a slave girl is in view. H. Barstad argues that the “girl” is the hostess at a pagan מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh) banquet (described at some length in 6:4-7). In his view the sin described here is not sexual immorality, but idolatry (see H. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos [VTSup], 33-36). In this case, one might translate, “Father and son go together to a pagan banquet.” In light of this cultic context, F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman argue that this is a reference to a specific female deity (“the Girl”) and correlate this verse with 8:14 (Amos [AB], 318-19).
5 tn Or “pollute”; “desecrate”; “dishonor.”
6 tn Heb “my holy name.” Here “name” is used metonymically for God’s moral character or reputation, while “holy” has a moral and ethical connotation.
7 tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”
8 tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”
9 tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”
10 sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
11 tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
12 tn Heb “prisoners of earth/land.” The term ארצ may refer to (1) the earth or (2) a country or (3) the promised land in particular (as well as other referents). “Earth” is chosen here since the context presents God’s general principles in dealing with humanity. Given the historical circumstances, however, prisoners from the land of Israel are certainly in the background.
13 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the
14 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”
15 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”
16 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”
17 tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”