Amos 1:9-10
Context1:9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes 1 –
make that four! 2 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 3
They sold 4 a whole community 5 to Edom;
they failed to observe 6 a treaty of brotherhood. 7
1:10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; 8
fire 9 will consume her fortresses.”
[1:9] 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.
[1:9] 2 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Tyre, even because of four.”
[1:9] 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.
[1:9] 5 tn Heb “[group of] exiles.” A similar phrase occurs in v. 6.
[1:9] 6 tn Heb “did not remember.”
[1:9] 7 sn A treaty of brotherhood. In the ancient Near Eastern world familial terms were sometimes used to describe treaty partners. In a treaty between superior and inferior parties, the lord would be called “father” and the subject “son.” The partners in a treaty between equals referred to themselves as “brothers.” For biblical examples, see 1 Kgs 9:13; 20:32-33.
[1:10] 8 sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
[1:10] 9 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.