Amos 5:21

5:21 “I absolutely despise ¹  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ²  from your religious assemblies!

Amos 6:8

6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ³ 

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking:

“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;

I hate their ⁴  fortresses.

I will hand over to their enemies ⁵  the city of Samaria ⁶  and everything in it.”

[5:21]  ¹ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ² tn Heb “I will not smell.” These verses are full of vivid descriptions of the Lord’s total rejection of Israelite worship. In the first half of this verse two verbs are used together for emphasis. Here the verb alludes to the sense of smell, a fitting observation since offerings would have been burned on the altar ideally to provide a sweet aroma to God (see, e.g., Lev 1:9, 13, 17; Num 29:36). Other senses that are mentioned include sight and hearing in vv. 22-23.

[6:8]  ³ tn Heb “swears by his life”; or “swears by himself.”

[6:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “his,” referring to Jacob, which stands here for the nation of Israel.

[6:8]  ⁵ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the city”; this probably refers to the city of Samaria (cf. 6:1), which in turn, by metonymy, represents the entire northern kingdom.