Amos 3:15

3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. ¹ 

The houses filled with ivory ²  will be ruined,

the great ³  houses will be swept away.” ⁴ 

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 4:8

4:8 People from ⁵  two or three cities staggered into one city to get ⁶  water,

but remained thirsty. ⁷ 

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 5:3

5:3 The sovereign Lord says this:

“The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers ⁸  will have only a hundred left;

the town ⁹  that marches out with a hundred soldiers ¹⁰  will have only ten left for the family of Israel.” ¹¹ 

Amos 5:22

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ¹²  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ¹³ 

[3:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the winter house along with the summer house.”

[3:15]  sn Like kings, many in Israel’s wealthy class owned both winter and summer houses (cf. 1 Kgs 21:1,18; Jer 36:22). For a discussion of archaeological evidence relating to these structures, see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 64-65.

[3:15]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”

[3:15]  ⁴ 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.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn The words “people from” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “to drink.”

[4:8]  ⁷ tn Or “were not satisfied.”

[5:3]  ⁸ tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “The one.” The word “town” has been used in the translation in keeping with the relative sizes of the armed contingents sent out by each. It is also possible that this line is speaking of the same city of the previous line. In other words, the contingent sent by that one city would have suffered a ninety-nine percent casualty loss.

[5:3]  ¹⁰ tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for/to the house of Israel.” The translation assumes that this is a graphic picture of what is left over for the defense of the nation (NEB, NJB, NASB, NKJV). Others suggest that this phrase completes the introductory formula (“The sovereign Lord says this…”; see v. 4a; NJPS). Another option is that the preposition has a vocative force, “O house of Israel” (F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 476). Some simply delete the phrase as dittography from the following line (NIV).

[5:22]  ¹² tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”