Discovery BoxIsaiah 22:12-13
Context22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth. 1
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! 2
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 3
Isaiah 23:7
Context23:7 Is this really your boisterous city 4
whose origins are in the distant past, 5
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
Isaiah 32:13
Context32:13 Mourn 6 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 7
in the city filled with revelry. 8
Amos 6:3-6
Context6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, 9
but you establish a reign of violence. 10
6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, 11
and sprawl out on their couches.
They eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the middle of the pen.
6:5 They sing 12 to the tune of 13 stringed instruments; 14
like David they invent 15 musical instruments.
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 16
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 17
[22:12] 1 tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.
[22:13] 2 tn Heb “happiness and joy.”
[22:13] 3 tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.
[23:7] 4 tn Heb “Is this to you, boisterous one?” The pronoun “you” is masculine plural, like the imperatives in v. 6, so it is likely addressed to the Egyptians and residents of the coast. “Boisterous one” is a feminine singular form, probably referring to the personified city of Tyre.
[23:7] 5 tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”
[32:13] 6 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 7 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
[32:13] 8 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[6:3] 9 tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”
[6:3] 10 tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.
[6:4] 11 tn Heb “beds of ivory.”
[6:5] 12 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”
[6:5] 13 tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”
[6:5] 14 sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).
[6:5] 15 tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).
[6:6] 16 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
[6:6] 17 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
[6:6] 18 tn Or “not sickened by.”
[6:6] 19 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
