6:5 They sing 1 to the tune of 2 stringed instruments; 3
like David they invent 4 musical instruments.
8:3 The women singing in the temple 5 will wail in that day.”
The sovereign Lord is speaking.
“There will be many corpses littered everywhere! 6 Be quiet!”
8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, 7
and all your songs into funeral dirges.
I will make everyone wear funeral clothes 8
and cause every head to be shaved bald. 9
I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; 10
when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. 11
1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”
2 tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”
3 sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).
4 tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).
5 tn Or “palace” (NASB, NCV, TEV).
6 tn Heb “Many corpses in every place he will throw out.” The subject of the verb is probably impersonal, though many emend the active (Hiphil) form to a passive (Hophal): “Many corpses in every place will be thrown out.”
7 tn Heb “mourning.”
8 tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”
9 tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).
10 tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”
11 tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.