4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: 1
“Certainly the time is approaching 2
when you will be carried away 3 in baskets, 4
every last one of you 5 in fishermen’s pots. 6
51:14 The Lord who rules over all 7 has solemnly sworn, 8
‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers.
They will swarm over it like locusts. 9
They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’
6:13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” 10 6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham 11 inherited the promise. 6:16 For people 12 swear by something greater than themselves, 13 and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. 14 6:17 In the same way 15 God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, 16 and so he intervened with an oath,
1 tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”
2 tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”
3 tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”
4 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.
5 tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”
6 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.
7 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.
8 tn Heb “has sworn by himself.” See the study note on 22:5 for background.
9 tn Heb “I will fill you with men like locusts.” The “you” refers to Babylon (Babylon is both the city and the land it ruled, Babylonia) which has been alluded to in the preceding verses under descriptive titles. The words “your land” have been used because of the way the preceding verse has been rendered, alluding to people rather than to the land or city. The allusion of “men” is, of course, to enemy soldiers and they are here compared to locusts both for their quantity and their destructiveness (see Joel 1:4). For the use of the particles כִּי אִם (ki ’im) to introduce an oath see BDB 475 s.v. כִּי אִם 2.c and compare usage in 2 Kgs 5:20; one would normally expect אִם לֹא (cf. BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b[2]).
10 tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.
11 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.
12 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
13 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
14 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
15 tn Grk “in which.”
16 tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”