Amos 4:8

4:8 People from ¹  two or three cities staggered into one city to get ²  water,

but remained thirsty. ³ 

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 5:8

5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;

he can turn the darkness into morning

and daylight ⁴  into night.

He summons the water of the seas

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name!

Amos 9:6

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ⁵  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ⁶  on the earth. ⁷ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

[4:8]  ¹ tn The words “people from” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:8]  ² tn Heb “to drink.”

[4:8]  ³ tn Or “were not satisfied.”

[5:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”

[9:6]  ⁷ tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).

[9:6]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.

[9:6]  ⁹ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.