Amos 2:9

2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. ¹ 

They were as tall as cedars ² 

and as strong as oaks,

but I destroyed the fruit on their branches ³ 

and their roots in the ground. ⁴ 

Amos 4:1

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ⁵  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ⁶  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ⁷  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ⁸ 

Amos 9:12

9:12 As a result they ⁹  will conquer those left in Edom ¹⁰ 

and all the nations subject to my rule.” ¹¹ 

The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!

Amos 9:15

9:15 I will plant them on their land

and they will never again be uprooted from the ¹²  land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “I destroyed the Amorites from before them.” The translation takes מִפְּנֵי (mippÿney) in the sense of “for the sake of.” See BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֻה II.6.a and H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos (Hermeneia), 134. Another option is to take the phrase in a spatial sense, “I destroyed the Amorites, [clearing them out] from before them [i.e., Israel]” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “whose height was like the height of cedars.”

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “his fruit from above.”

[2:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his roots from below.”

[4:1]  ⁵ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “their.”

[4:1]  ⁸ sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).

[9:12]  ⁹ sn They probably refers to the Israelites or to the Davidic rulers of the future.

[9:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “take possession of the remnant of Edom”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “possess the remnant of Edom.”

[9:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “nations over whom my name is proclaimed.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership, sometimes as a result of conquest. See 2 Sam 12:28.

[9:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.