Amos 3:13

3:13 Listen and warn ¹  the family ²  of Jacob! ³ 

The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, ⁴  is speaking!

Amos 5:1

Death is Imminent

5:1 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, ⁵  family ⁶  of Israel:

Amos 5:4

5:4 The Lord says this to the family ⁷  of Israel:

“Seek me ⁸  so you can live!

Amos 6:9

6:9 If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.

[3:13]  ¹ tn Or “testify against.”

[3:13]  ² tn Heb “house.”

[3:13]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Listen to this word which I am about to take up against you, a funeral song.”

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[5:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[5:4]  ⁸ sn The following verses explain what it meant to seek the Lord. Israel was to abandon the mere formalism and distorted view of God and reality that characterized religious activity at the worship sites, as well as the social injustice that permeated Israelite society. Instead the people were to repent and promote justice in the land. This call to seek the Lord echoes the challenge in 4:13 to prepare to meet him as he truly is.