Amos 1:5

1:5 I will break the bar ¹  on the gate of Damascus.

I will remove ²  the ruler ³  from Wicked Valley, ⁴ 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. ⁵ 

The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” ⁶ 

The Lord has spoken!

Amos 1:8

1:8 I will remove ⁷  the ruler ⁸  from Ashdod, ⁹ 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. ¹⁰ 

I will strike Ekron ¹¹  with my hand; ¹² 

the rest of the Philistines will also die.” ¹³ 

The sovereign Lord has spoken!

Amos 8:8

8:8 Because of this the earth ¹⁴  will quake, ¹⁵ 

and all who live in it will mourn.

The whole earth ¹⁶  will rise like the River Nile, ¹⁷ 

it will surge upward ¹⁸  and then grow calm, ¹⁹  like the Nile in Egypt. ²⁰ 

Amos 9:5

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ²¹ 

He touches the earth and it dissolves; ²² 

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth ²³  rises like the River Nile, ²⁴ 

and then grows calm ²⁵  like the Nile in Egypt. ²⁶ 

[1:5]  ¹ sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some English versions take the Hebrew term in a collective sense as “inhabitants” (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV). The context and the parallel in the next clause (“the one who holds the royal scepter”), however, suggest that the royal house is in view. For this term (יוֹשֵׁב, yoshev), see N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, 512-30.

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “valley of wickedness.” Though many English versions take the Hebrew phrase בִקְעַת־אָוֶן (biq’-at ’aven) as a literal geographical place name (“Valley of Aven,” so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), it appears to be a derogatory epithet for Damascus and the kingdom of Aram.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Many associate the name “Beth Eden” with Bit Adini, an Aramean state located near the Euphrates River, but it may be a sarcastic epithet meaning “house of pleasure.”

[1:5]  ⁶ sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The Lord threatens to reverse their history and send them back there.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some translations take this expression as a collective singular referring to the inhabitants rather than the ruler (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[1:8]  ⁹ sn Ashdod was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ¹⁰ sn Ashkelon was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ¹¹ sn Ekron was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ¹² tn Heb “I will turn my hand against Ekron.” For other uses of the idiom, “turn the hand against,” see Ps 81:14; Isa 1:25; Jer 6:9; Zech 13:7.

[1:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the remnant of the Philistines will perish.” The translation above assumes that reference is made to other Philistines beside those living in the cities mentioned. Another option is to translate, “Every last Philistine will die.”

[8:8]  ¹³ tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).

[8:8]  ¹⁴ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

[8:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all of it.”

[8:8]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads “like the light” (כָאֹר, kha’or; note this term also appears in v. 9), which is commonly understood to be an error for “like the Nile” (כִּיאוֹר, ki’or). See the parallel line and Amos 9:5. The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity. If this emendation is correct, in the Hebrew of Amos “Nile” is actually spelled three slightly different ways.

[8:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “churn.”

[8:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.

[8:8]  ¹⁹ tn The entire verse is phrased in a series of rhetorical questions which anticipate the answer, “Of course!” (For example, the first line reads, “Because of this will the earth not quake?”). The rhetorical questions entrap the listener in the logic of the judgment of God (cf. 3:3-6; 9:7). The rhetorical questions have been converted to affirmative statements in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹⁹ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

[9:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “all of it.”

[9:5]  ²² tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ²³ tn Or “sinks back down.”

[9:5]  ²⁴ sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.