Amos 8:12

8:12 People ¹  will stagger from sea to sea, ² 

and from the north around to the east.

They will wander about looking for a revelation from ³  the Lord,

but they will not find any. ⁴ 

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 9:3

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ⁶  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ⁷  I would command the Sea Serpent ⁸  to bite them.

Amos 9:6

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ⁹  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ¹⁰  on the earth. ¹¹ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

[8:12]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ² tn That is, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east – that is, across the whole land.

[8:12]  ³ tn Heb “looking for the word of.”

[8:12]  ⁴ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

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

[9:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ¹¹ sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.

[9:6]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.