Amos 6:5

6:5 They sing ¹  to the tune of ²  stringed instruments; ³ 

like David they invent ⁴  musical instruments.

Amos 8:8

8:8 Because of this the earth ⁵  will quake, ⁶ 

and all who live in it will mourn.

The whole earth ⁷  will rise like the River Nile, ⁸ 

it will surge upward ⁹  and then grow calm, ¹⁰  like the Nile in Egypt. ¹¹ 

[6:5]  ¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”

[6:5]  ² tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”

[6:5]  ³ sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).

[6:5]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).

[8:8]  ⁵ tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).

[8:8]  ⁶ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

[8:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “all of it.”

[8:8]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “churn.”

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.

[8:8]  ¹¹ 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.