Amos 6:3

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ¹ 

but you establish a reign of violence. ² 

Amos 5:13

5:13 For this reason whoever is smart ³  keeps quiet ⁴  in such a time,

for it is an evil ⁵  time.

Amos 9:10

9:10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword –

the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’

Amos 3:6

3:6 If an alarm sounds ⁶  in a city, do people not fear? ⁷ 

If disaster overtakes a ⁸  city, is the Lord not responsible? ⁹ 

Amos 5:14-15

5:14 Seek good and not evil so you can live!

Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you,

as you claim he is.

5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!

Promote ¹⁰  justice at the city gate! ¹¹ 

Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on ¹²  those who are left from ¹³  Joseph. ¹⁴ 

Amos 9:4

9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, ¹⁵ 

from there ¹⁶  I will command the sword to kill them.

I will not let them out of my sight;

they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” ¹⁷ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”

[6:3]  ² tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.

[5:13]  ³ tn Or “the wise”; or “the prudent.” Another option is to translate “the successful, prosperous” and understand this as a reference to the rich oppressors. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 169-70. In this case the following verb will also have a different nuance, that is, the wealthy remain silent before the abuses they perpetuate. See the note on the verb translated “keeps quiet” later in this verse.

[5:13]  ⁴ tn Or “moans, laments,” from a homonymic verbal root. If the rich oppressors are in view, then the verb (whether translated “will be silenced” or “will lament”) describes the result of God’s judgment upon them. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[5:13]  ⁵ tn If this is a judgment announcement against the rich, then the Hebrew phrase עֵת רָעָה (’et ra’ah) must be translated, “[a] disastrous time.” See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”

[3:6]  ⁶ tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”

[3:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “set up, establish.” In the ancient Near East it was the responsibility especially of the king to establish justice. Here the prophet extends that demand to local leaders and to the nation as a whole (cf. 5:24).

[5:15]  ⁸ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate (see the note in v. 12). This repetition of this phrase serves to highlight a deliberate contrast to the injustices cited in vv. 11-13.

[5:15]  ⁹ tn Or “will show favor to.”

[5:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the remnant of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “what’s left of your people.”

[5:15]  ¹¹ sn Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.

[9:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Even if they go into captivity before their enemies.”

[9:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will set my eye on them for disaster, not good.”