Amos 2:13-16

2:13 Look! I will press you down,

like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. ¹ 

2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; ² 

strong men will have no strength left; ³ 

warriors will not be able to save their lives.

2:15 Archers ⁴  will not hold their ground; ⁵ 

fast runners will not save their lives,

nor will those who ride horses. ⁶ 

2:16 Bravehearted ⁷  warriors will run away naked in that day.”

The Lord is speaking!

[2:13]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of this verse is unclear. Various suggested meanings have been proposed (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 94): (1) One option is to relate the verb to an Arabic verb, meaning “to hinder; to hamper,” and translate, “I am making you immobile, like a cart filled with grain is immobile.” In this case, the Lord refers to Israel’s inability to escape his coming judgment (see vv. 14-16; NJPS). (2) Another view relates the verb to a different Arabic verb meaning “to cut in pieces,” translating “I will cut you in pieces as a cart cuts in pieces [the earth],” referring to the ruts and rifts in the ground caused by an earthquake. (3) Some relate the verb to an Arabic root meaning “to groan” with the idea that the Lord causes the ground underneath Israel to groan (cf. NLT). (4) The translation connects the verb to an Aramaism signifying to “press down” (cf. NIV, NRSV). Some English versions translate the verb in an intransitive sense as “I am weighted down” (cf. NASB, NKJV) or “I groan beneath you” (NEB). For this last option, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 334.

[2:14]  ² tn Heb “and a place of refuge will perish from the swift.”

[2:14]  ³ tn Heb “the strong will not increase his strength.”

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “the one who holds the bow.”

[2:15]  ⁵ tn For the idiom of “holding [or “standing”] one’s ground” in battle, there is a similar phrase in Ezek 13:5; also related is the expression “to hold one’s own against” (or “to withstand”) in Judg 2:14; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 8:7 (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 97). Other options include “will not endure” or “will not survive.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn The last two lines read literally, “The one fast in his feet will not rescue [his life], and the rider of the horse will not rescue his life.” The phrase “his life” does double duty in the parallelism and should be understood in both lines.

[2:16]  ⁷ tn Or “the most stouthearted” (NAB); NRSV “those who are stout of heart.”