Amos 6:9

6:9 If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.

Amos 7:3

7:3 The Lord decided not to do this. ¹  “It will not happen,” the Lord said.

Amos 7:6

7:6 The Lord decided not to do this. ²  The sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”

Amos 3:6

3:6 If an alarm sounds ³  in a city, do people not fear? ⁴ 

If disaster overtakes a ⁵  city, is the Lord not responsible? ⁶ 

Amos 4:11

4:11 “I overthrew some of you the way God ⁷  overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. ⁸ 

You were like a burning stick ⁹  snatched from the flames.

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 5:14

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.

Amos 7:2

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

“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! ¹⁰ 

How can Jacob survive? ¹¹ 

He is too weak!” ¹² 

Amos 8:9

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. ¹³ 

Amos 1:1

Introduction

1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. ¹⁴  He ¹⁵  was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him ¹⁶  during the time of ¹⁷  King Uzziah of Judah and ¹⁸  King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ¹⁹ 

Amos 5:5

5:5 Do not seek Bethel! ²⁰ 

Do not visit Gilgal!

Do not journey down ²¹  to Beer Sheba!

For the people of Gilgal ²²  will certainly be carried into exile; ²³ 

and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” ²⁴ 

[7:3]  ¹ tn Or “changed his mind about this.”

[7:6]  ¹ tn Or “changed his mind about this.”

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”

[3:6]  ² tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”

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

[3:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”

[4:11]  ¹ tn Several English versions substitute the first person pronoun (“I”) here for stylistic reasons (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[4:11]  ² tn Heb “like God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The divine name may be used in an idiomatic superlative sense here, in which case one might translate, “like the great [or “disastrous”] overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

[4:11]  ³ tn Heb “like that which is burning.”

[7:2]  ¹ tn “Israel” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

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

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “small.”

[8:9]  ¹ tn Heb “in a day of light.”

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The words of Amos.” Among the prophetic books this opening phrase finds a parallel only at Jer 1:1 but is not that uncommon in other genres (note, e.g., Prov 30:1; 31:1; Eccl 1:1; Neh 1:1).

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the days of.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ⁶ sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century b.c. According to a generally accepted dating system, Uzziah was a co-regent with his father Amaziah from 792-767 b.c. and ruled independently from 767-740 b.c. Jeroboam II was a co-regent with his father Joash from 793-782 b.c. and ruled independently from 782-753 b.c. Since only Uzziah and Jeroboam are mentioned in the introduction it is likely that Amos’ mission to Israel and the earthquake which followed occurred between 767-753 b.c. The introduction validates the genuine character of Amos’ prophetic ministry in at least two ways: (1) Amos was not a native Israelite or a prophet by trade. Rather he was a herdsman in Tekoa, located in Judah. His mere presence in the northern kingdom as a prophet was evidence that he had been called by God (see 7:14-15). (2) The mighty earthquake shortly after Amos’ ministry would have been interpreted as an omen or signal of approaching judgment. The clearest references to an earthquake are 1:1 and 9:1, 5. It is possible that the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn”) at 3:13-15, 4:11, 6:11, and 8:8 also refers to an earthquake, as might the descriptions at 2:13 and 6:9-10. Evidence of a powerful earthquake has been correlated with a destruction layer at Hazor and other sites. Its lasting impact is evident by its mention in Zech 14:5 and 2 Chr 26:16-21. Earthquake imagery appears in later prophets as well (cf. D. N. Freedman and A. Welch, “Amos’s Earthquake and Israelite Prophecy,” Scripture and Other Artifacts, 188-98). On the other hand, some of these verses in Amos could allude to the devastation that would be caused by the imminent military invasion.

[5:5]  ¹ sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).

[5:5]  ² tn Heb “cross over.”

[5:5]  ³ tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:5]  ⁴ tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”