15:17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you 1
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
26:4 I do not associate 2 with deceitful men,
or consort 3 with those who are dishonest. 4
7:2 It is better to go to a funeral 5
than a feast. 6
For death 7 is the destiny 8 of every person, 9
and the living should 10 take this 11 to heart.
7:3 Sorrow 12 is better than laughter,
because sober reflection 13 is good for the heart. 14
7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking. 15
22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth. 16
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! 17
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 18
22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 19 “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” 20 says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.
6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, 21
and sprawl out on their couches.
They eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the middle of the pen.
6:5 They sing 22 to the tune of 23 stringed instruments; 24
like David they invent 25 musical instruments.
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 26
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 27
Yet they are not concerned over 28 the ruin 29 of Joseph.
17:1 Jesus 38 said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe 39 to the one through whom they come!
1 tn Heb “because of your hand.”
2 tn Heb “sit.”
3 tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
4 tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”
5 tn Heb “house of mourning.” The phrase refers to a funeral where the deceased is mourned.
6 tn Heb “house of drinking”; or “house of feasting.” The Hebrew noun מִשְׁתֶּה (mishteh) can denote (1) “feast; banquet,” occasion for drinking-bouts (1 Sam 25:36; Isa 5:12; Jer 51:39; Job 1:5; Esth 2:18; 5:14; 8:17; 9:19) or (2) “drink” (exilic/postexilic – Ezra 3:7; Dan 1:5, 8, 16); see HALOT 653 s.v. מִשְׁתֶּה 4; BDB 1059 s.v. שָׁתַה.
7 tn Heb “it”; the referent (“death”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “the end.” The noun סוֹף (sof) literally means “end; conclusion” (HALOT 747 s.v. סוֹף 1; BDB 693 s.v. סוֹף). It is used in this context in reference to death, as the preceding phrase “house of mourning” (i.e., funeral) suggests.
9 tn Heb “all men” or “every man.”
10 tn The imperfect tense verb יִתֵּן, yitten (from נָתָן, natan, “to give”) functions in a modal sense, denoting obligation, that is, the subject’s obligatory or necessary conduct: “should” or “ought to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 31-32, §172; IBHS 508-9 §31.4g).
11 tn The word “this” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
12 tn NEB suggests “grief”; NJPS, “vexation.”
13 tn Heb “in sadness of face there is good for the heart.”
14 tn Or possibly “Though the face is sad, the heart may be glad.”
15 sn The expression the house of merrymaking refers to a banquet where those who attend engage in self-indulgent feasting and riotous drinking.
16 tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.
17 tn Heb “happiness and joy.”
18 tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.
19 tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
20 tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.
21 tn Heb “beds of ivory.”
22 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”
23 tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”
24 sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).
25 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).
26 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
27 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
28 tn Or “not sickened by.”
29 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
30 tn Grk “they,” but in an indefinite sense, “people.”
31 tn Grk “They.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.
32 tn These verbs (“eating… drinking… marrying… being given in marriage”) are all progressive imperfects, describing action in progress at that time.
33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
34 sn Like that flood came and destroyed them all, the coming judgment associated with the Son of Man will condemn many.
35 tn Or “as it happened.”
36 tn Grk “they.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.
37 sn And destroyed them all. The coming of the Son of Man will be like the judgment on Sodom, one of the most immoral places of the OT (Gen 19:16-17; Deut 32:32-33; Isa 1:10).
38 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
39 sn See Luke 6:24-26.
40 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.
41 tn The Greek conjunction καὶ (kai) seems to be functioning here ascensively, (i.e., “even”), but is difficult to render in this context using good English. It may read something like: “but rather even expose them!”
42 tn Grk “rather even expose.”