Amos 5:19

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ¹ 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ²  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

Amos 6:10-11

6:10 When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, ³  pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” He will respond, “Be quiet! Don’t invoke the Lord’s name!” ⁴ 

6:11 Indeed, look! The Lord is giving the command. ⁵ 

He will smash the large house to bits,

and the small house into little pieces.

Amos 3:15

3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. ⁶ 

The houses filled with ivory ⁷  will be ruined,

the great ⁸  houses will be swept away.” ⁹ 

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 5:11

5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ¹⁰ 

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 ¹¹  vineyards you planted. ¹² 

Amos 6:8

6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ¹³ 

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

“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;

I hate their ¹⁴  fortresses.

I will hand over to their enemies ¹⁵  the city of Samaria ¹⁶  and everything in it.”

Amos 3:10

3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.)

“They store up ¹⁷  the spoils of destructive violence ¹⁸  in their fortresses.

Amos 7:9

7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship ¹⁹  will become desolate;

Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.

I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” ²⁰ 

Amos 5:6

5:6 Seek the Lord so you can live!

Otherwise he will break out ²¹  like fire against Joseph’s ²²  family; ²³ 

the fire ²⁴  will consume

and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. ²⁵ 

Amos 6:9

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

Amos 2:8

2:8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;

they do so right ²⁶  beside every altar!

They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;

they do so right in the temple ²⁷  of their God! ²⁸ 

Amos 1:4

1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house ²⁹  on fire;

fire ³⁰  will consume Ben Hadad’s ³¹  fortresses.

Amos 3:13

3:13 Listen and warn ³²  the family ³³  of Jacob! ³⁴ 

The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, ³⁵  is speaking!

Amos 3:11

3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. ³⁶ 

He will take away your power; ³⁷ 

your fortresses will be looted.”

Amos 4:3

4:3 Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; ³⁸ 

you will be thrown out ³⁹  toward Harmon.” ⁴⁰ 

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 7:16

7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach ⁴¹  against the family of Isaac!’

Amos 9:11

The Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty

9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut ⁴²  of David.

I will seal its ⁴³  gaps,

repair its ⁴⁴  ruins,

and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. ⁴⁵ 

Amos 9:6

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ⁴⁶  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ⁴⁷  on the earth. ⁴⁸ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

Amos 9:1

9:1 I saw the sovereign One ⁴⁹  standing by the altar ⁵⁰  and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, ⁵¹  so the thresholds shake!

Knock them down on the heads of all the people, ⁵² 

and I will kill the survivors ⁵³  with the sword.

No one will be able to run away; ⁵⁴ 

no one will be able to escape. ⁵⁵ 

[5:19]  ¹ tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ² tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[6:10]  ³ tn The translation assumes that “their relatives” and “the ones who will burn the corpses” are in apposition. Another option is to take them as distinct individuals, in which case one could translate, “When their close relatives and the ones who will burn the corpses pick up…” The meaning of the form translated “the ones who burn the corpses” is uncertain. Another option is to translate, “the ones who prepare the corpses for burial” (NASB “undertaker”; cf. also CEV). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 215-16.

[6:10]  ⁴ tn This verse is notoriously difficult to interpret. The Hebrew text literally reads, “And he will lift him up, his uncle, and the one burning him, to bring out bones from the house. And he will say to the one who is in the inner parts of the house, ‘Is there [anyone] still with you?’ And he will say, ‘Be quiet for not to invoke the name of the Lord.’” The translation assumes that the singular pronominal and verbal forms throughout the verse are collective or distributive. This last sentence has been interpreted in several ways: a command not to call on the name of the Lord out of fear that he might return again in judgment; the realization that it is not appropriate to seek a blessing in the Lord’s name upon the dead in the house since the judgment was deserved; an angry refusal to call on the Lord out of a sense that he has betrayed his people in allowing them to suffer.

[6:11]  ⁵ tn Or “is issuing the decree.”

[3:15]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”

[3:15]  ⁹ 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.

[5:11]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”

[5:11]  ¹² 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.”

[6:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “swears by his life”; or “swears by himself.”

[6:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his,” referring to Jacob, which stands here for the nation of Israel.

[6:8]  ¹⁵ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:8]  ¹⁶ 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.

[3:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “those who.”

[3:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.

[7:9]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”

[7:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”

[5:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.

[5:6]  ²² sn Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.

[5:6]  ²³ tn Heb “house.”

[5:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to/for Bethel.” The translation assumes that the preposition indicates advantage, “on behalf of.” Another option is to take the preposition as vocative, “O Bethel.”

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn The words “They do so right” are supplied twice in the translation of this verse for clarification.

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn Or “gods.” The Hebrew term אֱלֹהֵיהֶם (’elohehem) may be translated “their gods” (referring to pagan gods), “their god” (referring to a pagan god, cf. NAB, NIV, NLT), or “their God” (referring to the God of Israel, cf. NASB, NRSV).

[1:4]  ²⁹ tn “Hazael’s house” (“the house of Hazael”) refers to the dynasty of Hazael.

[1:4]  sn Hazael took the throne of Aram in 843 b.c. and established a royal dynasty. See 2 Kgs 8:7-15 and W. Pitard, Ancient Damascus, 145-60.

[1:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:4]  ³¹ sn Ben-hadad may refer to Hazael’s son and successor (2 Kgs 13:3, 24) or to an earlier king (see 1 Kgs 20), perhaps the ruler whom Hazael assassinated when he assumed power.

[3:13]  ³² tn Or “testify against.”

[3:13]  ³³ tn Heb “house.”

[3:13]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

[3:11]  ³⁶ tc The MT reads “an enemy and around the land.” It is also possible to take the MT as an exclamation (“an enemy, and all about the land!”; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 118; NJPS; cf. NLT).Most scholars and versions emend the text to יְסוֹבֵב (yÿsovev, Polel imperfect), “will encircle.”

[3:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “He will bring down your power from you.” Some emend the text to read “Your power will be brought down from you.” The shift, however, from an active to a passive sense also appears at 3:14 (“I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off.”) The pronouns (“your…you”) are feminine singular, indicating that the personified city of Samaria is addressed here. Samaria’s “power” here is her defenses and/or wealth.

[4:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and [through the] breaches you will go out, each straight ahead.”

[4:3]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ 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”).

[7:16]  ⁴¹ tn The verb, which literally means “to drip,” appears to be a synonym of “to prophesy,” but it might carry a derogatory tone here, perhaps alluding to the impassioned, frenzied way in which prophets sometimes delivered their messages. If so, one could translate, “to drivel; to foam at the mouth” (see HALOT 694 s.v. נטף).

[9:11]  ⁴² tn The phrase translated “collapsing hut” refers to a temporary shelter (cf. NASB, NRSV “booth”) in disrepair and emphasizes the relatively weakened condition of the once powerful Davidic dynasty. Others have suggested that the term refers to Jerusalem, while still others argue that it should be repointed to read “Sukkoth,” a garrison town in Transjordan. Its reconstruction would symbolize the rebirth of the Davidic empire and its return to power (e.g., M. E. Polley, Amos and the Davidic Empire, 71-74).

[9:11]  ⁴³ tc The MT reads a third feminine plural suffix, which could refer to the two kingdoms (Judah and Israel) or, more literally, to the breaches in the walls of the cities that are mentioned in v. 4 (cf. 4:3). Some emend to third feminine singular, since the “hut” of the preceding line (a feminine singular noun) might be the antecedent. In that case, the final nun (ן) is virtually dittographic with the vav (ו) that appears at the beginning of the following word.

[9:11]  ⁴⁴ tc The MT reads a third masculine singular suffix, which could refer back to David. However, it is possible that an original third feminine singular suffix (יה-, yod-hey) has been misread as masculine (יו-, yod-vav). In later Hebrew script a ה (he) resembles a יו- (yod-vav) combination.

[9:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and I will rebuild as in days of antiquity.”

[9:6]  ⁴⁶ tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).

[9:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.

[9:6]  ⁴⁸ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.

[9:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:1]  ⁵⁰ sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.

[9:1]  ⁵¹ tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.

[9:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “cut them off on the head of all of them.” The translation assumes the objective suffix on the verb refers to the tops of the pillars and that the following prepositional phrase refers to the people standing beneath. Another option is to take this phrase as referring to the pillars, in which case one could translate, “Knock all the tops of the pillars off.”

[9:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the remnant of them.” One could possibly translate, “every last one of them” (cf. NEB “to the last man”). This probably refers to those who survive the collapse of the temple, which may symbolize the northern kingdom.

[9:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”

[9:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”