Amos 1:13

1:13 This is what the Lord says:

“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes ¹  –

make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³ 

They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women ⁴ 

so they could expand their territory.

Amos 2:4

2:4 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions ⁵  –

make that four! ⁶  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ⁷ 

They rejected the Lord’s law; ⁸ 

they did not obey his commands.

Their false gods, ⁹ 

to which their fathers were loyal, ¹⁰ 

led them astray.

Amos 2:7

2:7 They trample ¹¹  on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; ¹² 

they push the destitute away. ¹³ 

A man and his father go to the same girl; ¹⁴ 

in this way they show disrespect ¹⁵  for my moral purity. ¹⁶ 

Amos 4:7

4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. ¹⁷ 

I gave rain to one city, but not to another.

One field ¹⁸  would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

Amos 5:11

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ¹⁹ 

and exact a grain tax from them,

you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,

nor will you drink the wine from the fine ²⁰  vineyards you planted. ²¹ 

Amos 7:10

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ²²  sent this message ²³  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ²⁴  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ²⁵ 

Amos 8:11

8:11 Be certain of this, ²⁶  the time is ²⁷  coming,” says the sovereign Lord,

“when I will send a famine through the land –

not a shortage of food or water

but an end to divine revelation! ²⁸ 

Amos 9:1

9:1 I saw the sovereign One ²⁹  standing by the altar ³⁰  and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, ³¹  so the thresholds shake!

Knock them down on the heads of all the people, ³² 

and I will kill the survivors ³³  with the sword.

No one will be able to run away; ³⁴ 

no one will be able to escape. ³⁵ 

Amos 9:7-8

9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” ³⁶  says the Lord.

“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,

but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor ³⁷  and the Arameans from Kir. ³⁸ 

9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching ³⁹  the sinful nation, ⁴⁰ 

and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.

But I will not completely destroy the family ⁴¹  of Jacob,” says the Lord.

[1:13]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “Because of three violations of the Ammonites, even because of four.”
On the three…four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2 see the note on the word “four” in 1:3.

[1:13]  ³ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[1:13]  ⁴ sn The Ammonites ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women in conjunction with a military invasion designed to expand their territory. Such atrocities, although repugnant, were not uncommon in ancient Near Eastern warfare.

[2:4]  ⁵ tn This is the same Hebrew term that is translated “crimes” in the previous oracles (see at 1:3). The change to “covenant transgressions” reflects the probability that the prophet is condemning the nation of Israel for violating stipulations of the Mosaic Law.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Judah, even because of four.”

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Or “instruction”; NCV “teachings.”

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “lies.” This may very well be a derogatory term for idols (perhaps also at Ps. 40:4 [Heb 40:5]). Elsewhere false gods are called “vanities” (Deut 32:21; 1 Kgs 16:13, 26) and a delusion (Isa 66:3). In no other prophetic passages, however, are they called “lies.” The term could refer to the deceptions of false prophets (note Ezek 13:6-9; cf. Hab 2:3). See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 301-6.

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “after which their fathers walked.” The expression “to walk after” is an idiom meaning “to be loyal to.” See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 75-76.

[2:7]  ⁹ tn Most scholars now understand this verb as derived from the root II שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to crush; to trample”), an alternate form of שׁוּף (shuf), rather than from I שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to pant, to gasp”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “those who stomp on the dirt of the ground on the head of the poor.” It is possible to render the line as “they trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground,” thereby communicating that the poor are being stepped on in utter contempt (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 79-80). The participial form הַשֹּׁאֲפִים (hasho’afim) is substantival and stands in apposition to the pronominal suffix on מִכְרָם (mikhram, v. 6b).

[2:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they turn aside the way of the destitute.” Many interpreters take “way” to mean “just cause” and understand this as a direct reference to the rights of the destitute being ignored. The injustice done to the poor is certainly in view, but the statement is better taken as a word picture depicting the powerful rich pushing the “way of the poor” (i.e., their attempt to be treated justly) to the side. An even more vivid picture is given in Amos 5:12, where the rich are pictured as turning the poor away from the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[2:7]  ¹² sn Most interpreters see some type of sexual immorality here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), even though the Hebrew phrase הָלַךְ אֶל (halakh ’el, “go to”) never refers elsewhere to sexual intercourse. (The usual idiom is בוֹא אֶל [bo’ ’el]. However, S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 82) attempts to develop a linguistic case for a sexual connotation here.) The precise identification of the “girl” in question is not clear. Some see the referent as a cultic prostitute (cf. NAB; v. 8 suggests a cultic setting), but the term נַעֲרָה (na’arah) nowhere else refers to a prostitute. Because of the contextual emphasis on social oppression, some suggest the exploitation of a slave girl is in view. H. Barstad argues that the “girl” is the hostess at a pagan מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh) banquet (described at some length in 6:4-7). In his view the sin described here is not sexual immorality, but idolatry (see H. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos [VTSup], 33-36). In this case, one might translate, “Father and son go together to a pagan banquet.” In light of this cultic context, F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman argue that this is a reference to a specific female deity (“the Girl”) and correlate this verse with 8:14 (Amos [AB], 318-19).

[2:7]  ¹³ tn Or “pollute”; “desecrate”; “dishonor.”

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my holy name.” Here “name” is used metonymically for God’s moral character or reputation, while “holy” has a moral and ethical connotation.

[4:7]  ¹³ sn Rain…three months before the harvest refers to the rains of late March-early April.

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “portion”; KJV, ASV “piece”; NASB “part.” The same word occurs a second time later in this verse.

[5:11]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).

[5:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”

[5:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”

[7:10]  ²¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ²² tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ²³ tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “words.”

[8:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[8:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the days are.”

[8:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “not a hunger for food or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.”

[9:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:1]  ³⁰ sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.

[9:1]  ³¹ tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.

[9:1]  ³² 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.”

[9:1]  ³³ 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.

[9:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”

[9:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”

[9:7]  ³³ tn The Hebrew text has a rhetorical question, “Are you children of Israel not like the Cushites to me?” The rhetorical question has been converted to an affirmative statement in the translation for clarity. See the comment at 8:8.

[9:7]  ³⁴ sn Caphtor may refer to the island of Crete.

[9:7]  ³⁵ tn The second half of v. 7 is also phrased as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text, “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?” The translation converts the rhetorical question into an affirmation for clarity.

[9:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign Lord are on.”

[9:8]  ³⁸ tn Or “kingdom.”

[9:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).