Amos 2:11

2:11 I made some of your sons prophets

and some of your young men Nazirites. ¹ 

Is this not true, you Israelites?”

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 9:7

9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” ²  says the Lord.

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

but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor ³  and the Arameans from Kir. ⁴ 

Amos 3:1

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ⁵  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ⁶  from the land of Egypt:

Amos 4:5

4:5 Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! ⁷ 

Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! ⁸ 

For you love to do this, you Israelites.”

The sovereign Lord is speaking!

Amos 7:14

7:14 Amos replied ⁹  to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. ¹⁰  No, ¹¹  I was a herdsman who also took care of ¹²  sycamore fig trees. ¹³ 

Amos 1:1

Introduction

1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. ¹⁴  He ¹⁵  was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him ¹⁶  during the time of ¹⁷  King Uzziah of Judah and ¹⁸  King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ¹⁹ 

Amos 1:13

1:13 This is what the Lord says:

“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes ²⁰  –

make that four! ²¹  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ²² 

They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women ²³ 

so they could expand their territory.

Amos 3:12

3:12 This is what the Lord says:

“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,

so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. ²⁴ 

They will be left with just a corner of a bed, ²⁵ 

and a part ²⁶  of a couch.”

Amos 7:17

7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets ²⁷ 

and your sons and daughters will die violently. ²⁸ 

Your land will be given to others ²⁹ 

and you will die in a foreign ³⁰  land.

Israel will certainly be carried into exile ³¹  away from its land.’”

[2:11]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “religious devotees” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) refers to one who “consecrated” or “devoted” to God (see Num 6:1-21).

[9:7]  ² 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]  ³ sn Caphtor may refer to the island of Crete.

[9:7]  ⁴ 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.

[3:1]  ³ tn Or “about.”

[3:1]  ⁴ 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.

[4:5]  ⁴ sn For the background of the thank offering of bread made with yeast, see Lev 7:13.

[4:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “proclaim voluntary offerings, announce.”

[7:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “for.”

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”

[7:14]  ⁹ sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “The words of Amos.” Among the prophetic books this opening phrase finds a parallel only at Jer 1:1 but is not that uncommon in other genres (note, e.g., Prov 30:1; 31:1; Eccl 1:1; Neh 1:1).

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the days of.”

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century b.c. According to a generally accepted dating system, Uzziah was a co-regent with his father Amaziah from 792-767 b.c. and ruled independently from 767-740 b.c. Jeroboam II was a co-regent with his father Joash from 793-782 b.c. and ruled independently from 782-753 b.c. Since only Uzziah and Jeroboam are mentioned in the introduction it is likely that Amos’ mission to Israel and the earthquake which followed occurred between 767-753 b.c. The introduction validates the genuine character of Amos’ prophetic ministry in at least two ways: (1) Amos was not a native Israelite or a prophet by trade. Rather he was a herdsman in Tekoa, located in Judah. His mere presence in the northern kingdom as a prophet was evidence that he had been called by God (see 7:14-15). (2) The mighty earthquake shortly after Amos’ ministry would have been interpreted as an omen or signal of approaching judgment. The clearest references to an earthquake are 1:1 and 9:1, 5. It is possible that the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn”) at 3:13-15, 4:11, 6:11, and 8:8 also refers to an earthquake, as might the descriptions at 2:13 and 6:9-10. Evidence of a powerful earthquake has been correlated with a destruction layer at Hazor and other sites. Its lasting impact is evident by its mention in Zech 14:5 and 2 Chr 26:16-21. Earthquake imagery appears in later prophets as well (cf. D. N. Freedman and A. Welch, “Amos’s Earthquake and Israelite Prophecy,” Scripture and Other Artifacts, 188-98). On the other hand, some of these verses in Amos could allude to the devastation that would be caused by the imminent military invasion.

[1:13]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[3:12]  ⁸ sn The verb translated salvaged, though often used in a positive sense of deliverance from harm, is here employed in a sarcastic manner. A shepherd would attempt to salvage part of an animal to prove that a predator had indeed killed it. In this way he could prove that he had not stolen the missing animal and absolve himself from any responsibility to repay the owner (see Exod 22:12-13).

[3:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “with a corner of a bed.”

[3:12]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דְּמֶשֶׁק (dÿmesheq), which occurs only here, is uncertain. If not emended, it is usually related to the term ַדּמֶּשֶׂק (dammeseq) and translated as the “Damask linens” of the bed (cf. NASB “the cover”) or as “in Damascus” (so KJV, NJB, NIV). The differences in spelling (Damascus is spelled correctly in 5:27), historical considerations, and the word order make both of these derivations unlikely. Many emendations have been proposed (e.g., “a part from the foot [of a bed],” based on a different division of the Hebrew letters (cf. NEB, NRSV); “on the edge,” based on a Hebrew term not attested in the Bible (NKJV). Some suggest a resemblance to an Akkadian term which means “sideboard [of a bed],” which is sometimes incorrectly rendered “headboard” (NJPS; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 121-22). Most likely another part of a bed or couch is in view, but it is difficult to be more specific.

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the city,” that is, “in public.”

[7:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will fall by the sword.”

[7:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will be divided up with a [surveyor’s] measuring line.”

[7:17]  ¹² tn Heb “[an] unclean”; or “[an] impure.” This fate would be especially humiliating for a priest, who was to distinguish between the ritually clean and unclean (see Lev 10:10).

[7:17]  ¹³ tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.