Amos 4:2

4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: ¹ 

“Certainly the time is approaching ² 

when you will be carried away ³  in baskets, ⁴ 

every last one of you ⁵  in fishermen’s pots. ⁶ 

Amos 4:4

Israel has an Appointment with God

4:4 “Go to Bethel ⁷  and rebel! ⁸ 

At Gilgal ⁹  rebel some more!

Bring your sacrifices in ¹⁰  the morning,

your tithes on ¹¹  the third day!

Amos 9:13

9:13 “Be sure of this, ¹²  the time is ¹³  coming,” says the Lord,

“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper ¹⁴ 

and the one who stomps the grapes ¹⁵  will overtake ¹⁶  the planter. ¹⁷ 

Juice will run down the slopes, ¹⁸ 

it will flow down all the hillsides. ¹⁹ 

Amos 8:11

8:11 Be certain of this, ²⁰  the time is ²¹  coming,” says the sovereign Lord,

“when I will send a famine through the land –

not a shortage of food or water

but an end to divine revelation! ²² 

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”

[4:2]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.

[4:4]  ⁷ sn Bethel and Gilgal were important formal worship centers because of their importance in Israel’s history. Here the Lord ironically urges the people to visit these places so they can increase their sin against him. Their formal worship, because it was not accompanied by social justice, only made them more guilty in God’s sight by adding hypocrisy to their list of sins. Obviously, theirs was a twisted view of the Lord. They worshiped a god of their own creation in order to satisfy their religious impulses (see 4:5: “For you love to do this”). Note that none of the rituals listed in 4:4-5 have to do with sin.

[4:4]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word translated “rebel” (also in the following line) could very well refer here to Israel’s violations of their covenant with God (see also the term “crimes” in 1:3 [with note] and the phrase “covenant transgressions” in 2:4 [with note]; 3:14).

[4:4]  ⁹ sn See the note on Bethel earlier in this verse.

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[4:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[9:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[9:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the days are.”

[9:13]  ¹⁵ sn The plowman will catch up to the reaper. Plowing occurred in October-November, and harvesting in April-May (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109.) But in the future age of restored divine blessing, there will be so many crops the reapers will take all summer to harvest them, and it will be time for plowing again before the harvest is finished.

[9:13]  ¹⁶ sn When the grapes had been harvested, they were placed in a press where workers would stomp on them with their feet and squeeze out the juice. For a discussion of grape harvesting technique, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-12.

[9:13]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[9:13]  ¹⁸ sn The grape harvest occurred in August-September, planting in November-December (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109). But in the future age described here there will be so many grapes the workers who stomp them will still be working when the next planting season arrives.

[9:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “hills,” where the vineyards were planted.

[9:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and all the hills will melt.”

[8:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[8:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the days are.”

[8:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “not a hunger for food or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.”