Amos 4:1-3
Konteks4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan 1 who live on Mount Samaria!
You 2 oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your 3 husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!” 4
4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: 5
“Certainly the time is approaching 6
when you will be carried away 7 in baskets, 8
every last one of you 9 in fishermen’s pots. 10
4:3 Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; 11
you will be thrown out 12 toward Harmon.” 13
The Lord is speaking!
Amos 5:11-13
Konteks5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops 14
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine 15 vineyards you planted. 16
5:12 Certainly 17 I am aware of 18 your many rebellious acts 19
and your numerous sins.
You 20 torment the innocent, you take bribes,
and you deny justice to 21 the needy at the city gate. 22
5:13 For this reason whoever is smart 23 keeps quiet 24 in such a time,
for it is an evil 25 time.
[4:1] 1 sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.
[4:1] 2 tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).
[4:1] 4 sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).
[4:2] 5 tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”
[4:2] sn The message that follows is an unconditional oath, the fulfillment of which is just as certain as the
[4:2] 6 tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”
[4:2] 7 tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”
[4:2] 8 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.
[4:2] 9 tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”
[4:2] 10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.
[4:2] sn The imagery of catching fish in connection with the captivity of Israel is also found in Jer 16:16 and Hab 1:14.
[4:3] 11 tn Heb “and [through the] breaches you will go out, each straight ahead.”
[4:3] 12 tn The Hiphil verb form has no object. It may be intransitive (F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 425), though many emend it to a Hophal.
[4:3] 13 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Many understand it as a place name, though such a location is not known. Some (e.g., H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos [Hermeneia[, 204) emend to “Hermon” or to similarly written words, such as “the dung heap” (NEB, NJPS), “the garbage dump” (NCV), or “the fortress” (cf. NLT “your fortresses”).
[5:11] 14 tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).
[5:11] 15 tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”
[5:11] 16 tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”
[5:12] 18 tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).
[5:12] 19 tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.
[5:12] 21 tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).
[5:12] 22 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
[5:13] 23 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] 24 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] 25 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.
