Amos 5:24

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions ¹  like a stream that never dries up.

Amos 4:8

4:8 People from ²  two or three cities staggered into one city to get ³  water,

but remained thirsty. ⁴ 

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 ⁵  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 ⁶  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ⁷  on the earth. ⁸ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

Amos 8:11

8:11 Be certain of this, ⁹  the time is ¹⁰  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! ¹¹ 

[5:24]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”

[4:8]  ² tn The words “people from” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:8]  ³ tn Heb “to drink.”

[4:8]  ⁴ tn Or “were not satisfied.”

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”

[9:6]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.

[8:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[8:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the days are.”

[8:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “not a hunger for food or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.”