Amos 3:14

3:14 “Certainly when ¹  I punish Israel for their ²  covenant transgressions, ³ 

I will destroy ⁴  Bethel’s ⁵  altars.

The horns ⁶  of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Amos 6:13

6:13 You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. ⁷ 

You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim ⁸  by our own power?”

Amos 2:2

2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, ⁹ 

and it will consume Kerioth’s ¹⁰  fortresses.

Moab will perish ¹¹  in the heat of battle ¹² 

amid war cries and the blaring ¹³  of the ram’s horn. ¹⁴ 

Amos 3:6

3:6 If an alarm sounds ¹⁵  in a city, do people not fear? ¹⁶ 

If disaster overtakes a ¹⁷  city, is the Lord not responsible? ¹⁸ 

[3:14]  ¹ tn Heb “in the day.”

[3:14]  ² tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.

[3:14]  ³ tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:14]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[3:14]  ⁶ sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the Lord’s enemies.

[6:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “those who rejoice over Lo-Debar.”

[6:13]  ⁸ sn Karnaim was also located across the Jordan River. The name in Hebrew means “double horned.” Since an animal’s horn was a symbol of strength (see Deut 33:17), the Israelites boasted in this victory over a town whose very name symbolized military power.

[2:2]  ¹³ sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the Lord will punish them by setting them on fire.

[2:2]  ¹⁴ sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[2:2]  ¹⁸ sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.

[3:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”

[3:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”

[3:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”

[3:6]  ²² tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”