Discovery BoxAmos 9:3-15
Context9:3 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 1 at the bottom of the sea,
from there 2 I would command the Sea Serpent 3 to bite them.
9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, 4
from there 5 I will command the sword to kill them.
I will not let them out of my sight;
they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” 6
9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. 7
He touches the earth and it dissolves; 8
all who live on it mourn.
The whole earth 9 rises like the River Nile, 10
and then grows calm 11 like the Nile in Egypt. 12
9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 13 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 14 on the earth. 15
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” 16 says the Lord.
“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor 17 and the Arameans from Kir. 18
9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching 19 the sinful nation, 20
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family 21 of Jacob,” says the Lord.
9:9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground. 22
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.’
9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut 23 of David.
I will seal its 24 gaps,
repair its 25 ruins,
and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. 26
9:12 As a result they 27 will conquer those left in Edom 28
and all the nations subject to my rule.” 29
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
9:13 “Be sure of this, 30 the time is 31 coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper 32
and the one who stomps the grapes 33 will overtake 34 the planter. 35
Juice will run down the slopes, 36
it will flow down all the hillsides. 37
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 38
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 39 and settle down. 40
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 41
they will grow orchards 42 and eat the fruit they produce. 43
9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the 44 land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
[9:3] 1 tn Heb “from before my eyes.”
[9:3] 2 tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).
[9:3] 3 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
[9:4] 4 tn Heb “Even if they go into captivity before their enemies.”
[9:4] 5 tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).
[9:4] 6 tn Heb “I will set my eye on them for disaster, not good.”
[9:5] 7 tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:5] 8 tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.
[9:5] 10 tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:5] 11 tn Or “sinks back down.”
[9:5] 12 sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.
[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.
[9:7] 16 tn The Hebrew text has a rhetorical question, “Are you children of Israel not like the Cushites to me?” The rhetorical question has been converted to an affirmative statement in the translation for clarity. See the comment at 8:8.
[9:7] 17 sn Caphtor may refer to the island of Crete.
[9:7] 18 tn The second half of v. 7 is also phrased as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text, “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?” The translation converts the rhetorical question into an affirmation for clarity.
[9:8] 19 tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign
[9:8] 21 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
[9:9] 22 tn Heb “like being shaken with a sieve, and a pebble does not fall to the ground.” The meaning of the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror), translated “pebble,” is unclear here. In 2 Sam 17:13 it appears to refer to a stone. If it means “pebble,” then the sieve described in v. 6 allows the grain to fall into a basket while retaining the debris and pebbles. However, if one interprets צְרוֹר as a “kernel of grain” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT) then the sieve is constructed to retain the grain and allow the refuse and pebbles to fall to the ground. In either case, the simile supports the last statement in v. 8 by making it clear that God will distinguish between the righteous (the grain) and the wicked (the pebbles) when he judges, and will thereby preserve a remnant in Israel. Only the sinners will be destroyed (v. 10).
[9:11] 23 tn The phrase translated “collapsing hut” refers to a temporary shelter (cf. NASB, NRSV “booth”) in disrepair and emphasizes the relatively weakened condition of the once powerful Davidic dynasty. Others have suggested that the term refers to Jerusalem, while still others argue that it should be repointed to read “Sukkoth,” a garrison town in Transjordan. Its reconstruction would symbolize the rebirth of the Davidic empire and its return to power (e.g., M. E. Polley, Amos and the Davidic Empire, 71-74).
[9:11] 24 tc The MT reads a third feminine plural suffix, which could refer to the two kingdoms (Judah and Israel) or, more literally, to the breaches in the walls of the cities that are mentioned in v. 4 (cf. 4:3). Some emend to third feminine singular, since the “hut” of the preceding line (a feminine singular noun) might be the antecedent. In that case, the final nun (ן) is virtually dittographic with the vav (ו) that appears at the beginning of the following word.
[9:11] 25 tc The MT reads a third masculine singular suffix, which could refer back to David. However, it is possible that an original third feminine singular suffix (יה-, yod-hey) has been misread as masculine (יו-, yod-vav). In later Hebrew script a ה (he) resembles a יו- (yod-vav) combination.
[9:11] 26 tn Heb “and I will rebuild as in days of antiquity.”
[9:12] 27 sn They probably refers to the Israelites or to the Davidic rulers of the future.
[9:12] 28 tn Heb “take possession of the remnant of Edom”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “possess the remnant of Edom.”
[9:12] 29 tn Heb “nations over whom my name is proclaimed.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership, sometimes as a result of conquest. See 2 Sam 12:28.
[9:13] 30 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
[9:13] 31 tn Heb “the days are.”
[9:13] 32 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] 33 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] 34 tn The verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation from the parallel line.
[9:13] 35 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] 36 tn Or “hills,” where the vineyards were planted.
[9:13] 37 tn Heb “and all the hills will melt.”
[9:14] 38 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] 39 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
[9:14] 40 tn Or “and live [in them].”
[9:14] 41 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
[9:14] 43 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”
[9:15] 44 tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.
