9:2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, 1
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could climb up to heaven,
I would drag them down from there.
9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,
I would hunt them down and take them from there.
Even if they tried to hide from me 2 at the bottom of the sea,
from there 3 I would command the Sea Serpent 4 to bite them.
9:1 I saw the sovereign One 5 standing by the altar 6 and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, 7 so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people, 8
and I will kill the survivors 9 with the sword.
No one will be able to run away; 10
no one will be able to escape. 11
1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. 12 He 13 was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him 14 during the time of 15 King Uzziah of Judah and 16 King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 17
1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. 18 He 19 was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him 20 during the time of 21 King Uzziah of Judah and 22 King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 23
17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:
“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,
it is a heap of ruins!
17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. 26
They will be used for herds,
which will lie down there in peace. 27
17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and Damascus will lose its kingdom. 28
The survivors in Syria
will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
17:4 “At that time 29
Jacob’s splendor will be greatly diminished, 30
and he will become skin and bones. 31
11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
1 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.”
2 tn Heb “from before my eyes.”
3 tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).
4 sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the
5 tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
6 sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.
7 tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.
8 tn Heb “cut them off on the head of all of them.” The translation assumes the objective suffix on the verb refers to the tops of the pillars and that the following prepositional phrase refers to the people standing beneath. Another option is to take this phrase as referring to the pillars, in which case one could translate, “Knock all the tops of the pillars off.”
9 tn Heb “the remnant of them.” One could possibly translate, “every last one of them” (cf. NEB “to the last man”). This probably refers to those who survive the collapse of the temple, which may symbolize the northern kingdom.
10 tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”
11 tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”
12 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).
13 tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14 tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”
15 tn Heb “in the days of.”
16 tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century
18 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).
19 tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.
20 tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”
21 tn Heb “in the days of.”
22 tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
23 sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century
24 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
25 sn The child’s name foreshadows what will happen to Judah’s enemies; when their defeat takes place, the child will be a reminder that God predicted the event and brought it to pass. As such the child will be a reminder of God’s protective presence with his people.
26 tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.
27 tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”
28 tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”
29 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
30 tn Heb “will be tiny.”
31 tn Heb “and the fatness of his flesh will be made lean.”
32 tn Grk “the revelation,” “the oracle.”
33 tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it appears to be a generic usage (“people”) since when Paul speaks of a remnant of faithful Israelites (“the elect,” v. 7), he is not referring to males only. It can also be argued, however, that it refers only to adult males here (“men”), perhaps as representative of all the faithful left in Israel.
34 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:18.