3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against 1 you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up 2 from the land of Egypt:
5:1 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, 3 family 4 of Israel:
5:26 You will pick up your images 5 of Sikkuth, 6 your king, 7
and Kiyyun, 8 your star god, which you made for yourselves,
1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. 9 He 10 was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him 11 during the time of 12 King Uzziah of Judah and 13 King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 14
2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. 15
They were as tall as cedars 16
and as strong as oaks,
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches 17
and their roots in the ground. 18
4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan 19 who live on Mount Samaria!
You 20 oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your 21 husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!” 22
9:12 As a result they 23 will conquer those left in Edom 24
and all the nations subject to my rule.” 25
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the 26 land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
2:4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions 27 –
make that four! 28 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 29
They rejected the Lord’s law; 30
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods, 31
to which their fathers were loyal, 32
led them astray.
4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. 33
I gave rain to one city, but not to another.
One field 34 would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
1 tn Or “about.”
2 tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the
3 tn Heb “Listen to this word which I am about to take up against you, a funeral song.”
4 tn Heb “house.”
5 tn This word appears in an awkward position in the Hebrew, following “Kiyyun.” It is placed here for better sense.
6 tn The Hebrew term סִכּוּת (sikkut) apparently refers to Sakkuth, a Mesopotamian star god identified with Ninurta in an Ugaritic god list. The name is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some English versions, following the LXX, translate as “tent” or “shrine” (NEB, NIV), pointing the term as סֻכַּת (sukkat; cf. 9:11).
7 tc LXX, Vulgate, and Acts 7:43 read “Moloch” (cf. KJV). The Hebrew consonants are the same for both “king” and “Moloch” (מֹלֶךְ; molekh).
8 tn The Hebrew term כִּיּוּן (kiyyun) apparently refers to the Mesopotamian god Kayamanu, or Saturn. The name, like “Sikkuth” in the previous line, is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some versions translate as “pedestal” (NEB, NIV), relating the term to the root כּוּן (kun).
7 tn Heb “The words of Amos.” Among the prophetic books this opening phrase finds a parallel only at Jer 1:1 but is not that uncommon in other genres (note, e.g., Prov 30:1; 31:1; Eccl 1:1; Neh 1:1).
8 tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”
10 tn Heb “in the days of.”
11 tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
12 sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century
9 tn Heb “I destroyed the Amorites from before them.” The translation takes מִפְּנֵי (mippÿney) in the sense of “for the sake of.” See BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֻה II.6.a and H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos (Hermeneia), 134. Another option is to take the phrase in a spatial sense, “I destroyed the Amorites, [clearing them out] from before them [i.e., Israel]” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
10 tn Heb “whose height was like the height of cedars.”
11 tn Heb “his fruit from above.”
12 tn Heb “and his roots from below.”
11 sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.
12 tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).
13 tn Heb “their.”
14 sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).
13 sn They probably refers to the Israelites or to the Davidic rulers of the future.
14 tn Heb “take possession of the remnant of Edom”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “possess the remnant of Edom.”
15 tn Heb “nations over whom my name is proclaimed.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership, sometimes as a result of conquest. See 2 Sam 12:28.
15 tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 tn This is the same Hebrew term that is translated “crimes” in the previous oracles (see at 1:3). The change to “covenant transgressions” reflects the probability that the prophet is condemning the nation of Israel for violating stipulations of the Mosaic Law.
18 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Judah, even because of four.”
19 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.
20 tn Or “instruction”; NCV “teachings.”
21 tn Heb “lies.” This may very well be a derogatory term for idols (perhaps also at Ps. 40:4 [Heb 40:5]). Elsewhere false gods are called “vanities” (Deut 32:21; 1 Kgs 16:13, 26) and a delusion (Isa 66:3). In no other prophetic passages, however, are they called “lies.” The term could refer to the deceptions of false prophets (note Ezek 13:6-9; cf. Hab 2:3). See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 301-6.
22 tn Heb “after which their fathers walked.” The expression “to walk after” is an idiom meaning “to be loyal to.” See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 75-76.
19 sn Rain…three months before the harvest refers to the rains of late March-early April.
20 tn Heb “portion”; KJV, ASV “piece”; NASB “part.” The same word occurs a second time later in this verse.