Amos 2:15

2:15 Archers ¹  will not hold their ground; ² 

fast runners will not save their lives,

nor will those who ride horses. ³ 

Amos 6:8

6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ⁴ 

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking:

“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;

I hate their ⁵  fortresses.

I will hand over to their enemies ⁶  the city of Samaria ⁷  and everything in it.”

[2:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who holds the bow.”

[2:15]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[6:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “swears by his life”; or “swears by himself.”

[6:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “his,” referring to Jacob, which stands here for the nation of Israel.

[6:8]  ⁶ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the city”; this probably refers to the city of Samaria (cf. 6:1), which in turn, by metonymy, represents the entire northern kingdom.