Amos 5:10-11

5:10 The Israelites ¹  hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; ² 

they despise anyone who speaks honestly.

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ³ 

and exact a grain tax from them,

you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,

nor will you drink the wine from the fine ⁴  vineyards you planted. ⁵ 

[5:10]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ² sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[5:11]  ³ tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).

[5:11]  ⁴ tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”

[5:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”