Amos 1:2

God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations

1:2 Amos ¹  said:

“The Lord comes roaring ²  out of Zion;

from Jerusalem ³  he comes bellowing! ⁴ 

The shepherds’ pastures wilt; ⁵ 

the summit of Carmel ⁶  withers.” ⁷ 

Amos 2:2

2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, ⁸ 

and it will consume Kerioth’s ⁹  fortresses.

Moab will perish ¹⁰  in the heat of battle ¹¹ 

amid war cries and the blaring ¹²  of the ram’s horn. ¹³ 

Amos 3:1

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ¹⁴  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ¹⁵  from the land of Egypt:

Amos 3:15

3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. ¹⁶ 

The houses filled with ivory ¹⁷  will be ruined,

the great ¹⁸  houses will be swept away.” ¹⁹ 

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 5:18

The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Woe ²⁰  to those who wish for the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?

It will bring darkness, not light.

Amos 5:22

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ²¹  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ²² 

Amos 7:2

7:2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,

“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! ²³ 

How can Jacob survive? ²⁴ 

He is too weak!” ²⁵ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he;” the referent (Amos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:2]  ² sn The Lord, in his role of warrior-king, is compared to a lion. See 3:4, 8.

[1:2]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “gives his voice.”

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Lexicographers debate whether there are two roots אָבַל (’aval), one signifying “mourn” and the other “be dry,” or simply one (“mourn”). The parallel verb (“withers”) might favor the first option and have the meaning “wilt away.” It is interesting to note, however, that the root appears later in the book in the context of lament (5:16; 8:8, 10; 9:5). Either 1:2 is a possible wordplay to alert the reader to the death that will accompany the judgment (the option of two roots), or perhaps the translation “mourns” is appropriate here as well (cf. KJV, NASB, NKJV, NJPS; see also D. J. A. Clines, “Was There an ’BL II ‘Be Dry’ in Classical Hebrew?” VT 42 [1992]: 1-10).

[1:2]  ⁶ sn Carmel was a region known for its abundant plants and trees. See Isa 33:9; 35:2; Jer 50:19.

[1:2]  ⁷ sn Loss of a land’s fertility is frequently associated with judgment in the OT and ancient Near Eastern literature.

[2:2]  ⁸ sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the Lord will punish them by setting them on fire.

[2:2]  ⁹ sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.

[2:2]  ¹² tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[2:2]  ¹³ sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “about.”

[3:1]  ¹⁶ tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the Lord apparently refers to himself in the third person in the preceding sentence. This first person form, however, serves to connect this message to the earlier indictment (2:10) and anticipates the words of the following verse.

[3:15]  ²² tn Heb “the winter house along with the summer house.”

[3:15]  ²³ tn Heb “houses of ivory.” These houses were not made of ivory, but they had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 139-48.

[3:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”

[3:15]  ²⁵ tn The translation assumes the form is from the Hebrew verb סָפָה (safah, “to sweep away”) rather than סוּף (suf, “to come to an end”), which is the choice of most versions. Either option effectively communicates the destruction of the structures.

[5:18]  ²⁹ tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.

[5:22]  ³⁶ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”

[7:2]  ⁴³ tn “Israel” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “stand” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[7:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “small.”