Amos 6:8

6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ¹ 

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking:

“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;

I hate their ²  fortresses.

I will hand over to their enemies ³  the city of Samaria ⁴  and everything in it.”

Amos 8:7

8:7 The Lord confirms this oath ⁵  by the arrogance of Jacob: ⁶ 

“I swear ⁷  I will never forget all you have done! ⁸ 

[6:8]  ¹ tn Heb “swears by his life”; or “swears by himself.”

[6:8]  ² tn Heb “his,” referring to Jacob, which stands here for the nation of Israel.

[6:8]  ³ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “the city”; this probably refers to the city of Samaria (cf. 6:1), which in turn, by metonymy, represents the entire northern kingdom.

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Or “swears.”

[8:7]  ⁶ sn In an oath one appeals to something permanent to emphasize one’s commitment to the promise. Here the Lord sarcastically swears by the arrogance of Jacob, which he earlier had condemned (6:8), something just as enduring as the Lord’s own life (see 6:8) or unchanging character (see 4:2). Other suggestions include that the Lord is swearing by the land, his most valuable possession (cf. Isa 4:2; Ps 47:4 [47:5 HT]); that this is a divine epithet analogous to “the Glory of Israel” (1 Sam 15:29); or that an ellipsis should be understood here, in which case the meaning is the same as that of 6:8 (“The Lord has sworn [by himself] against the arrogance of Jacob”).

[8:7]  ⁷ tn The words “I swear” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation because a self-imprecation is assumed in oaths of this type.

[8:7]  ⁸ tn Or “I will never forget all your deeds.”