Micah 3:12
Context3:12 Therefore, because of you, 1 Zion will be plowed up like 2 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 3 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 4
Isaiah 24:10-12
Context24:10 The ruined town 5 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 6
24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 7
all joy turns to sorrow; 8
celebrations disappear from the earth. 9
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 10
the gate is reduced to rubble. 11
Isaiah 27:10
Context27:10 For the fortified city 12 is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves 13 graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare. 14
Isaiah 32:13-14
Context32:13 Mourn 15 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 16
in the city filled with revelry. 17
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 18 city is abandoned.
Hill 19 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 20
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 21
Isaiah 40:6-8
Context40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks, 22 “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds: 23 “All people are like grass, 24
and all their promises 25 are like the flowers in the field.
40:7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord 26 blows on them.
Surely humanity 27 is like grass.
40:8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” 28
Isaiah 66:6
Context66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;
the sound comes from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.
Jeremiah 19:11-13
Context19:11 Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, 29 ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. 30 I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. 31 The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’ 32 19:12 I, the Lord, say: 33 ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth. 19:13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies 34 just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars 35 and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”
Jeremiah 26:6
Context26:6 If you do not obey me, 36 then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. 37 And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”
Jeremiah 26:18
Context26:18 “Micah from Moresheth 38 prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. 39 He told all the people of Judah,
‘The Lord who rules over all 40 says,
“Zion 41 will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem 42 will become a pile of rubble.
The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’ 43
Jeremiah 37:8-10
Context37:8 Then the Babylonian forces 44 will return. They will attack the city and will capture it and burn it down. 37:9 Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces 45 will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away. 46 37:10 For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces 47 fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”’” 48
Hosea 13:16
Context13:16 (14:1) 49 Samaria will be held guilty, 50
because she rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
their infants will be dashed to the ground –
their 51 pregnant women will be ripped open.
Amos 2:5
Context2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 52
Amos 3:8-15
Context3:8 A lion has roared! 53 Who is not afraid?
The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? 54
3:9 Make this announcement in 55 the fortresses of Ashdod
and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Say this:
“Gather on the hills around Samaria! 56
Observe the many acts of violence 57 taking place within the city, 58
the oppressive deeds 59 occurring in it.” 60
3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.)
“They store up 61 the spoils of destructive violence 62 in their fortresses.
3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. 63
He will take away your power; 64
your fortresses will be looted.”
3:12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. 65
They will be left with just a corner of a bed, 66
and a part 67 of a couch.”
3:13 Listen and warn 68 the family 69 of Jacob! 70
The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, 71 is speaking!
3:14 “Certainly when 72 I punish Israel for their 73 covenant transgressions, 74
I will destroy 75 Bethel’s 76 altars.
The horns 77 of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. 78
The houses filled with ivory 79 will be ruined,
the great 80 houses will be swept away.” 81
The Lord is speaking!
Amos 6:1
Context6:1 Woe 82 to those who live in ease in Zion, 83
to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
They think of themselves as 84 the elite class of the best nation.
The family 85 of Israel looks to them for leadership. 86
Jonah 3:4
Context3:4 When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, 87 Nineveh will be overthrown!” 88
Zephaniah 3:2
Contextshe refuses correction. 90
She does not trust the Lord;
she does not seek the advice of 91 her God.
[3:12] 1 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
[3:12] 2 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
[3:12] 3 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
[3:12] 4 tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”
[24:10] 5 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
[24:10] 6 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
[24:11] 7 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
[24:11] 8 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
[24:11] 9 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
[24:12] 10 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
[24:12] 11 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
[27:10] 12 sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.
[27:10] 13 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
[27:10] 14 tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.
[32:13] 15 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 16 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] 17 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 18 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 19 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
[32:14] 20 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
[32:14] 21 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[40:6] 22 tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”
[40:6] 23 tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.
[40:6] 24 tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.
[40:6] 25 tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.
[40:7] 26 tn The Hebrew text has רוּחַ יְהוָה (ruakh yehvah), which in this context probably does not refer to the Lord’s personal Spirit. The phrase is better translated “the breath of the Lord,” or “the wind of [i.e., sent by] the Lord.” The Lord’s sovereign control over nature, including the hot desert winds that dry up vegetation, is in view here (cf. Ps 147:18; Isa 59:19).
[40:7] 27 tn Heb “the people” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[40:8] 28 tn Heb “but the word of our God stands forever.” In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1-5).
[19:11] 29 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” For this title see the study note on 2:19. The translation attempts to avoid the confusion of embedding quotes within quotes by reducing this one to an indirect quote.
[19:11] 30 tn The adverb “Thus” or “Like this” normally points back to something previously mentioned. See, e.g., Exod 29:35; Num 11:15; 15:11; Deut 25:9.
[19:11] 31 tn Heb “Like this I will break this people and this city, just as one breaks the vessel of a potter which is not able to be repaired.”
[19:11] 32 sn See Jer 7:22-23 for parallels.
[19:12] 33 tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the
[19:13] 34 tn The words “by dead bodies” is not in the text but is implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:13] 35 tn Heb “the host of heaven.”
[26:6] 36 tn 26:4-6 are all one long sentence containing a long condition with subordinate clauses (vv. 4-5) and a compound consequence in v. 6: Heb “If you will not obey me by walking in my law…by paying attention to the words of the prophets which…and you did not pay heed, then I will make…and I will make…” The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style but an attempt has been made to reflect all the subordinations in the English translation.
[26:6] 37 sn See the study note on Jer 7:13.
[26:18] 38 sn Micah from Moresheth was a contemporary of Isaiah (compare Mic 1:1 with Isa 1:1) from the country town of Moresheth in the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. The prophecy referred to is found in Mic 3:12. This is the only time in the OT where an OT prophet is quoted verbatim and identified.
[26:18] 39 sn Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729-715
[26:18] 40 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[26:18] 41 sn Zion was first of all the citadel that David captured (2 Sam 5:6-10), then the city of David and the enclosed temple area, then the whole city of Jerusalem. It is often in poetic parallelism with Jerusalem as it is here (see, e.g., Ps 76:2; Amos 1:2).
[26:18] 42 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[26:18] 43 sn There is irony involved in this statement. The text reads literally “high places of a forest/thicket.” The “high places” were the illicit places of worship that Jerusalem was supposed to replace. Because of their sin, Jerusalem would be like one of the pagan places of worship with no place left sacrosanct. It would even be overgrown with trees and bushes. So much for its inviolability!
[37:8] 44 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation here for the sake of clarity.
[37:9] 45 tn Heb “the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the rendering “Babylonian.” The word “forces” is supplied in the translation here for the sake of clarity.
[37:9] 46 tn Heb “Thus says the
[37:10] 47 tn Heb “all the army of the Chaldeans.” For the rendering “Babylonian” in place of Chaldean see the study note on 21:4.
[37:10] 48 tn The length and complexity of this English sentence violates the more simple style that has been used to conform such sentences to contemporary English style. However, there does not seem to be any alternative that would enable a simpler style and still retain the causal and conditional connections that give this sentence the rhetorical force that it has in the original. The condition is, of course, purely hypothetical and the consequence a poetic exaggeration. The intent is to assure Zedekiah that there is absolutely no hope of the city being spared.
[13:16] 49 sn Beginning with 13:16, the verse numbers through 14:9 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 13:16 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:1 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:9 ET = 14:10 HT. Thus ch. 14 in the Hebrew Bible has 10 verses.
[13:16] 50 tn Or “must bear its guilt” (NIV similar); NLT “must bear the consequences of their guilt”; CEV “will be punished.”
[13:16] 51 tn Heb “his.” This is a collective singular, as recognized by almost all English versions.
[2:5] 52 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:8] 53 sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.
[3:8] 54 sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.
[3:9] 55 tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).
[3:9] 56 sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.
[3:9] 57 tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.
[3:9] 58 tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”
[3:9] 59 tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).
[3:10] 62 tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.
[3:11] 63 tc The MT reads “an enemy and around the land.” It is also possible to take the MT as an exclamation (“an enemy, and all about the land!”; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 118; NJPS; cf. NLT).Most scholars and versions emend the text to יְסוֹבֵב (yÿsovev, Polel imperfect), “will encircle.”
[3:11] 64 tn Heb “He will bring down your power from you.” Some emend the text to read “Your power will be brought down from you.” The shift, however, from an active to a passive sense also appears at 3:14 (“I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off.”) The pronouns (“your…you”) are feminine singular, indicating that the personified city of Samaria is addressed here. Samaria’s “power” here is her defenses and/or wealth.
[3:12] 65 sn The verb translated salvaged, though often used in a positive sense of deliverance from harm, is here employed in a sarcastic manner. A shepherd would attempt to salvage part of an animal to prove that a predator had indeed killed it. In this way he could prove that he had not stolen the missing animal and absolve himself from any responsibility to repay the owner (see Exod 22:12-13).
[3:12] 66 tn Heb “with a corner of a bed.”
[3:12] 67 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דְּמֶשֶׁק (dÿmesheq), which occurs only here, is uncertain. If not emended, it is usually related to the term ַדּמֶּשֶׂק (dammeseq) and translated as the “Damask linens” of the bed (cf. NASB “the cover”) or as “in Damascus” (so KJV, NJB, NIV). The differences in spelling (Damascus is spelled correctly in 5:27), historical considerations, and the word order make both of these derivations unlikely. Many emendations have been proposed (e.g., “a part from the foot [of a bed],” based on a different division of the Hebrew letters (cf. NEB, NRSV); “on the edge,” based on a Hebrew term not attested in the Bible (NKJV). Some suggest a resemblance to an Akkadian term which means “sideboard [of a bed],” which is sometimes incorrectly rendered “headboard” (NJPS; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 121-22). Most likely another part of a bed or couch is in view, but it is difficult to be more specific.
[3:13] 68 tn Or “testify against.”
[3:13] 70 tn These words are spoken to either the unidentified heralds addressed at the beginning of v. 9, or to the Egyptians and Philistines (see v. 9b). Another possibility is that one is not to look for a specific addressee but rather appreciate the command simply as a rhetorical device to grab the attention of the listeners and readers of the prophetic message.
[3:13] 71 tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”
[3:14] 72 tn Heb “in the day.”
[3:14] 73 tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.
[3:14] 74 tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.
[3:14] 75 tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).
[3:14] 76 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[3:14] 77 sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the
[3:15] 78 tn Heb “the winter house along with the summer house.”
[3:15] 79 tn Heb “houses of ivory.” These houses were not made of ivory, but they had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 139-48.
[3:15] 80 tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”
[3:15] 81 tn The translation assumes the form is from the Hebrew verb סָפָה (safah, “to sweep away”) rather than סוּף (suf, “to come to an end”), which is the choice of most versions. Either option effectively communicates the destruction of the structures.
[6:1] 82 tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.
[6:1] 83 sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.
[6:1] 84 tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.
[6:1] 86 tn Heb “comes to them.”
[3:4] 87 tn Heb “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” The adverbial use of עוֹד (’od, “yet”) denotes limited temporal continuation (BDB 728 s.v. עוֹד 1.a; Gen 29:7; Isa 10:32). Tg. Jonah 3:4 rendered it as “at the end of [forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown].”
[3:4] 88 tn Heb “be overturned.” The Niphal נֶהְפָּכֶת (nehpakhet, “be overturned”) refers to a city being overthrown and destroyed (BDB 246 s.v. הָפַךְ 2.d). The related Qal form refers to the destruction of a city by military conquest (Judg 7:3; 2 Sam 10:3; 2 Kgs 21:13; Amos 4:11) or divine intervention as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:21, 25, 29; Deut 29:22; Jer 20:16; Lam 4:6; BDB 245 s.v. 1.b). The participle form used here depicts an imminent future action (see IBHS 627-28 §37.6f) which is specified as only “forty days” away.
[3:2] 89 tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.
[3:2] 90 tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).
[3:2] 91 tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).