Amos 2:11

2:11 I made some of your sons prophets

and some of your young men Nazirites. ¹ 

Is this not true, you Israelites?”

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 5:13

5:13 For this reason whoever is smart ²  keeps quiet ³  in such a time,

for it is an evil ⁴  time.

Amos 6:13

6:13 You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. ⁵ 

You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim ⁶  by our own power?”

Amos 7:2

7:2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,

“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! ⁷ 

How can Jacob survive? ⁸ 

He is too weak!” ⁹ 

Amos 7:5

7:5 I said, “Sovereign Lord, stop!

How can Jacob survive? ¹⁰ 

He is too weak!” ¹¹ 

Amos 8:10-11

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹² 

and all your songs into funeral dirges.

I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ¹³ 

and cause every head to be shaved bald. ¹⁴ 

I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ¹⁵ 

when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ¹⁶ 

8:11 Be certain of this, ¹⁷  the time is ¹⁸  coming,” says the sovereign Lord,

“when I will send a famine through the land –

not a shortage of food or water

but an end to divine revelation! ¹⁹ 

[2:11]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “religious devotees” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) refers to one who “consecrated” or “devoted” to God (see Num 6:1-21).

[5:13]  ² tn Or “the wise”; or “the prudent.” Another option is to translate “the successful, prosperous” and understand this as a reference to the rich oppressors. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 169-70. In this case the following verb will also have a different nuance, that is, the wealthy remain silent before the abuses they perpetuate. See the note on the verb translated “keeps quiet” later in this verse.

[5:13]  ³ tn Or “moans, laments,” from a homonymic verbal root. If the rich oppressors are in view, then the verb (whether translated “will be silenced” or “will lament”) describes the result of God’s judgment upon them. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[5:13]  ⁴ tn If this is a judgment announcement against the rich, then the Hebrew phrase עֵת רָעָה (’et ra’ah) must be translated, “[a] disastrous time.” See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[6:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “those who rejoice over Lo-Debar.”

[6:13]  sn Lo-Debar was located across the Jordan River in Gilead, which the Israelite army had conquered. However, there is stinging irony here, for in Hebrew the name Lo-Debar means “nothing.” In reality Israel was happy over nothing of lasting consequence.

[6:13]  ⁶ sn Karnaim was also located across the Jordan River. The name in Hebrew means “double horned.” Since an animal’s horn was a symbol of strength (see Deut 33:17), the Israelites boasted in this victory over a town whose very name symbolized military power.

[7:2]  ⁷ tn “Israel” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “stand” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[7:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “small.”

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand.”

[7:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “small.”

[8:10]  ¹² tn Heb “mourning.”

[8:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”

[8:10]  sn Mourners wore sackcloth (funeral clothes) as an outward expression of grief.

[8:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

[8:10]  sn Shaving the head or tearing out one’s hair was a ritual act of mourning. See Lev 21:5; Deut 14:1; Isa 3:24; 15:2; Jer 47:5; 48:37; Ezek 7:18; 27:31; Mic 1:16.

[8:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”

[8:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.

[8:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[8:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the days are.”

[8:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “not a hunger for food or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.”