Amos 5:7

5:7 The Israelites ¹  turn justice into bitterness; ² 

they throw what is fair and right ³  to the ground. ⁴ 

Amos 2:10

2:10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt;

I led you through the wilderness for forty years

so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.

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.

Amos 3:1

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ⁸  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ⁹  from the land of Egypt:

Amos 3:5

3:5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?

Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?

Amos 3:11

3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. ¹⁰ 

He will take away your power; ¹¹ 

your fortresses will be looted.”

Amos 3:14

3:14 “Certainly when ¹²  I punish Israel for their ¹³  covenant transgressions, ¹⁴ 

I will destroy ¹⁵  Bethel’s ¹⁶  altars.

The horns ¹⁷  of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

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 ¹⁸  into night.

He summons the water of the seas

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name!

Amos 7:2

7:2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,

“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! ¹⁹ 

How can Jacob survive? ²⁰ 

He is too weak!” ²¹ 

Amos 7:12

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! ²²  Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living ²³  and prophesy there!

Amos 8:8-9

8:8 Because of this the earth ²⁴  will quake, ²⁵ 

and all who live in it will mourn.

The whole earth ²⁶  will rise like the River Nile, ²⁷ 

it will surge upward ²⁸  and then grow calm, ²⁹  like the Nile in Egypt. ³⁰ 

8:9 In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon,

and make the earth dark in the middle of the day. ³¹ 

Amos 9:5

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ³² 

He touches the earth and it dissolves; ³³ 

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth ³⁴  rises like the River Nile, ³⁵ 

and then grows calm ³⁶  like the Nile in Egypt. ³⁷ 

Amos 9:9

9:9 “For look, I am giving a command

and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.

It will resemble a sieve being shaken,

when not even a pebble falls to the ground. ³⁸ 

Amos 2:7

2:7 They trample ³⁹  on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; ⁴⁰ 

they push the destitute away. ⁴¹ 

A man and his father go to the same girl; ⁴² 

in this way they show disrespect ⁴³  for my moral purity. ⁴⁴ 

Amos 3:9

Samaria Will Fall

3:9 Make this announcement in ⁴⁵  the fortresses of Ashdod

and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.

Say this:

“Gather on the hills around Samaria! ⁴⁶ 

Observe the many acts of violence ⁴⁷  taking place within the city, ⁴⁸ 

the oppressive deeds ⁴⁹  occurring in it.” ⁵⁰ 

Amos 4:13

4:13 For here he is!

He ⁵¹  formed the mountains and created the wind.

He reveals ⁵²  his plans ⁵³  to men.

He turns the dawn into darkness ⁵⁴ 

and marches on the heights of the earth.

The Lord, the God who commands armies, ⁵⁵  is his name!”

Amos 7:10

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ⁵⁶  sent this message ⁵⁷  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ⁵⁸  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ⁵⁹ 

Amos 8:11

8:11 Be certain of this, ⁶⁰  the time is ⁶¹  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! ⁶² 

Amos 9:7

9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” ⁶³  says the Lord.

“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,

but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor ⁶⁴  and the Arameans from Kir. ⁶⁵ 

[5:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Those who”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In light of vv. 11-13, it is also possible that the words are directed at a more limited group within the nation – those with social and economic power.

[5:7]  ² tn There is an interesting wordplay here with the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn, turn”). Israel “turns” justice into wormwood (cf. 6:12), while the Lord “turns” darkness into morning (v. 8; cf. 4:11; 8:10). Israel’s turning is for evil, whereas the Lord’s is to demonstrate his absolute power and sovereignty.

[5:7]  ³ tn Heb “they throw righteousness.”

[5:7]  ⁴ sn In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites, but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, but powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8-9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.

[9:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Or “about.”

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the Lord apparently refers to himself in the third person in the preceding sentence. This first person form, however, serves to connect this message to the earlier indictment (2:10) and anticipates the words of the following verse.

[3:11]  ¹³ tc The MT reads “an enemy and around the land.” It is also possible to take the MT as an exclamation (“an enemy, and all about the land!”; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 118; NJPS; cf. NLT).Most scholars and versions emend the text to יְסוֹבֵב (yÿsovev, Polel imperfect), “will encircle.”

[3:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “He will bring down your power from you.” Some emend the text to read “Your power will be brought down from you.” The shift, however, from an active to a passive sense also appears at 3:14 (“I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off.”) The pronouns (“your…you”) are feminine singular, indicating that the personified city of Samaria is addressed here. Samaria’s “power” here is her defenses and/or wealth.

[3:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the day.”

[3:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.

[3:14]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.

[3:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:14]  ²¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[3:14]  ²² sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the Lord’s enemies.

[5:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”

[7:2]  ²⁵ tn “Israel” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “stand” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[7:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “small.”

[7:12]  ²⁹ tn Traditionally, “seer.” The word is a synonym for “prophet,” though it may carry a derogatory tone on the lips of Amaziah.

[7:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Eat bread there.”

[8:8]  ³³ tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).

[8:8]  ³⁴ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

[8:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “all of it.”

[8:8]  ³⁶ tc The MT reads “like the light” (כָאֹר, kha’or; note this term also appears in v. 9), which is commonly understood to be an error for “like the Nile” (כִּיאוֹר, ki’or). See the parallel line and Amos 9:5. The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity. If this emendation is correct, in the Hebrew of Amos “Nile” is actually spelled three slightly different ways.

[8:8]  ³⁷ tn Or “churn.”

[8:8]  ³⁸ tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.

[8:8]  ³⁹ tn The entire verse is phrased in a series of rhetorical questions which anticipate the answer, “Of course!” (For example, the first line reads, “Because of this will the earth not quake?”). The rhetorical questions entrap the listener in the logic of the judgment of God (cf. 3:3-6; 9:7). The rhetorical questions have been converted to affirmative statements in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in a day of light.”

[9:5]  ⁴¹ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ⁴² tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

[9:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “all of it.”

[9:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “sinks back down.”

[9:5]  ⁴⁶ sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.

[9:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “like being shaken with a sieve, and a pebble does not fall to the ground.” The meaning of the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror), translated “pebble,” is unclear here. In 2 Sam 17:13 it appears to refer to a stone. If it means “pebble,” then the sieve described in v. 6 allows the grain to fall into a basket while retaining the debris and pebbles. However, if one interprets צְרוֹר as a “kernel of grain” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT) then the sieve is constructed to retain the grain and allow the refuse and pebbles to fall to the ground. In either case, the simile supports the last statement in v. 8 by making it clear that God will distinguish between the righteous (the grain) and the wicked (the pebbles) when he judges, and will thereby preserve a remnant in Israel. Only the sinners will be destroyed (v. 10).

[2:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Most scholars now understand this verb as derived from the root II שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to crush; to trample”), an alternate form of שׁוּף (shuf), rather than from I שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to pant, to gasp”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[2:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “those who stomp on the dirt of the ground on the head of the poor.” It is possible to render the line as “they trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the ground,” thereby communicating that the poor are being stepped on in utter contempt (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 79-80). The participial form הַשֹּׁאֲפִים (hasho’afim) is substantival and stands in apposition to the pronominal suffix on מִכְרָם (mikhram, v. 6b).

[2:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “they turn aside the way of the destitute.” Many interpreters take “way” to mean “just cause” and understand this as a direct reference to the rights of the destitute being ignored. The injustice done to the poor is certainly in view, but the statement is better taken as a word picture depicting the powerful rich pushing the “way of the poor” (i.e., their attempt to be treated justly) to the side. An even more vivid picture is given in Amos 5:12, where the rich are pictured as turning the poor away from the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[2:7]  ⁵² sn Most interpreters see some type of sexual immorality here (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), even though the Hebrew phrase הָלַךְ אֶל (halakh ’el, “go to”) never refers elsewhere to sexual intercourse. (The usual idiom is בוֹא אֶל [bo’ ’el]. However, S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 82) attempts to develop a linguistic case for a sexual connotation here.) The precise identification of the “girl” in question is not clear. Some see the referent as a cultic prostitute (cf. NAB; v. 8 suggests a cultic setting), but the term נַעֲרָה (na’arah) nowhere else refers to a prostitute. Because of the contextual emphasis on social oppression, some suggest the exploitation of a slave girl is in view. H. Barstad argues that the “girl” is the hostess at a pagan מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh) banquet (described at some length in 6:4-7). In his view the sin described here is not sexual immorality, but idolatry (see H. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos [VTSup], 33-36). In this case, one might translate, “Father and son go together to a pagan banquet.” In light of this cultic context, F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman argue that this is a reference to a specific female deity (“the Girl”) and correlate this verse with 8:14 (Amos [AB], 318-19).

[2:7]  ⁵³ tn Or “pollute”; “desecrate”; “dishonor.”

[2:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “my holy name.” Here “name” is used metonymically for God’s moral character or reputation, while “holy” has a moral and ethical connotation.

[3:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).

[3:9]  ⁵⁴ sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.

[3:9]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.

[3:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”

[3:9]  ⁵⁷ tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).

[3:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “within her.”

[4:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “For look, the one who.” This verse is considered to be the first hymnic passage in the book. The others appear at 5:8-9 and 9:5-6. Scholars debate whether these verses were originally part of a single hymn or three distinct pieces deliberately placed in each context for particular effect.

[4:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “declares” (NAB, NASB).

[4:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “his thoughts.” The translation assumes that the pronominal suffix refers to God and that divine self-revelation is in view (see 3:7). If the suffix refers to the following term אָדַם (’adam, “men”), then the expression refers to God’s ability to read men’s minds.

[4:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “he who makes dawn, darkness.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation assumes that allusion is made to God’s approaching judgment, when the light of day will be turned to darkness (see 5:20). Other options include: (1) “He makes the dawn [and] the darkness.” A few Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX, add the conjunction (“and”) between the two nouns. (2) “He turns darkness into glimmering dawn” (NJPS). See S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 154), who takes שָׁחַר (shakhar) as “blackness” rather than “dawn” and עֵיפָה (’efah) as “glimmering dawn” rather than “darkness.”

[4:13]  ⁶¹ tn Traditionally, “God of hosts.”

[7:10]  ⁶¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ⁶² tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ⁶³ tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “words.”

[8:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[8:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the days are.”

[8:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “not a hunger for food or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.”

[9:7]  ⁶⁹ tn The Hebrew text has a rhetorical question, “Are you children of Israel not like the Cushites to me?” The rhetorical question has been converted to an affirmative statement in the translation for clarity. See the comment at 8:8.

[9:7]  ⁷⁰ sn Caphtor may refer to the island of Crete.

[9:7]  ⁷¹ tn The second half of v. 7 is also phrased as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text, “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?” The translation converts the rhetorical question into an affirmation for clarity.