Amos 6:13

6:13 You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. ¹ 

You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim ²  by our own power?”

Amos 7:15

7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending ³  flocks and gave me this commission, ⁴  ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’

Amos 9:2

9:2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, ⁵ 

my hand would pull them up from there.

Even if they could climb up to heaven,

I would drag them down from there.

¹ tn Heb “those who rejoice over Lo-Debar.”

² sn Karnaim was also located across the Jordan River. The name in Hebrew means “double horned.” Since an animal’s horn was a symbol of strength (see Deut 33:17), the Israelites boasted in this victory over a town whose very name symbolized military power.

³ tn Heb “from [following] after.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the Lord said to me.”

⁵ tn Heb “into Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), that is, the land of the dead localized in Hebrew thought in the earth’s core or the grave. Cf. KJV “hell”; NCV, NLT “the place of the dead”; NIV “the depths of the grave.”