Amos 5:12

5:12 Certainly ¹  I am aware of ²  your many rebellious acts ³ 

and your numerous sins.

You ⁴  torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to ⁵  the needy at the city gate. ⁶ 

Amos 9:3

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ⁷  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ⁸  I would command the Sea Serpent ⁹  to bite them.

[5:12]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[5:12]  ² tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).

[5:12]  ³ tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Those who.”

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[5:12]  ⁶ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[9:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ⁹ sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.