Amos 9:13-14

9:13 “Be sure of this, ¹  the time is ²  coming,” says the Lord,

“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper ³ 

and the one who stomps the grapes ⁴  will overtake ⁵  the planter. ⁶ 

Juice will run down the slopes, ⁷ 

it will flow down all the hillsides. ⁸ 

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ⁹ 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ¹⁰  and settle down. ¹¹ 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ¹² 

they will grow orchards ¹³  and eat the fruit they produce. ¹⁴ 

[9:13]  ¹ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[9:13]  ² tn Heb “the days are.”

[9:13]  ³ sn The plowman will catch up to the reaper. Plowing occurred in October-November, and harvesting in April-May (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109.) But in the future age of restored divine blessing, there will be so many crops the reapers will take all summer to harvest them, and it will be time for plowing again before the harvest is finished.

[9:13]  ⁴ sn When the grapes had been harvested, they were placed in a press where workers would stomp on them with their feet and squeeze out the juice. For a discussion of grape harvesting technique, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-12.

[9:13]  ⁵ tn The verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[9:13]  ⁶ sn The grape harvest occurred in August-September, planting in November-December (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109). But in the future age described here there will be so many grapes the workers who stomp them will still be working when the next planting season arrives.

[9:13]  ⁷ tn Or “hills,” where the vineyards were planted.

[9:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “and all the hills will melt.”

[9:14]  ⁹ tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).

[9:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ¹² tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ¹³ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”