Amos 9:9

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. ¹ 

Amos 9:14-15

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ² 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ³  and settle down. ⁴ 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ⁵ 

they will grow orchards ⁶  and eat the fruit they produce. ⁷ 

9:15 I will plant them on their land

and they will never again be uprooted from the ⁸  land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

[9:9]  ¹ 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).

[9:14]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ⁴ tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ⁶ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.