10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 6 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 7
21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
94:15 For justice will prevail, 8
and all the morally upright 9 will be vindicated. 10
7:7 He showed me this: I saw 11 the sovereign One 12 standing by a tin 13 wall holding tin in his hand. 7:8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The sovereign One then said,
“Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel.
I will no longer overlook their sin. 14
7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship 15 will become desolate;
Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.
I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” 16
19:2 because his judgments are true and just. 21
For he has judged 22 the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,
and has avenged the blood of his servants 23 poured out by her own hands!” 24
1 tn Heb “are like.”
2 sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).
3 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
4 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
5 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
6 tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”
7 tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”
8 tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”
9 tn Heb “all the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the
10 tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”
11 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
12 tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here and in the following verse is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
13 tn The Hebrew word אֲנָךְ (’anakh, “tin”) occurs only in this passage (twice in this verse and twice in the following verse). (Its proposed meaning is based on an Akkadian cognate annaku.) The tin wall of the vision, if it symbolizes Israel, may suggest weakness and vulnerability to judgment. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 233-35. The symbolic significance of God holding tin in his hand and then placing tin among the people is unclear. Possibly the term אֲנָךְ in v. 8b is a homonym meaning “grief” (this term is attested in postbiblical Hebrew). In this case there is a wordplay, the אֲנָךְ (“tin”) of the vision suggesting the אֲנָךְ (“grief”) that judgment will bring upon the land. See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 759. Another option is to maintain the meaning “tin” and understand that the Lord has ripped off a piece of the tin wall and placed it in front of all to see. Their citadels, of which the nation was so proud and confident, are nothing more than tin fortresses. The traditional interpretation of these verses (reflected in many English versions) understands the term אֲנָךְ to mean “lead,” and by extension, “plumb line.” In this case, one may translate: “I saw the sovereign one standing by a wall built true to plumb holding a plumb line in his hand. The
14 tn Heb “And I will no longer pass over him.”
15 tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”
16 tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”
17 tn Or “based on truth.”
18 tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.
19 tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
20 tc In light of the interpretive difficulty of this verse, a longer reading seems to have been added to clarify the meaning. The addition, in the middle of the sentence, makes the whole verse read as follows: “For he will execute his sentence completely and quickly in righteousness, because the Lord will do it quickly on the earth.” The shorter reading is found largely in Alexandrian
21 tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.
22 tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.
23 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
24 tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).