Amos 1:6

1:6 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Gaza ¹  has committed three crimes ²  –

make that four! ³  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ⁴ 

They deported a whole community ⁵  and sold them ⁶  to Edom.

Amos 2:8

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

they do so right ⁷  beside every altar!

They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;

they do so right in the temple ⁸  of their God! ⁹ 

Amos 4:1-2

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ¹⁰  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ¹¹  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ¹²  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ¹³ 

4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: ¹⁴ 

“Certainly the time is approaching ¹⁵ 

when you will be carried away ¹⁶  in baskets, ¹⁷ 

every last one of you ¹⁸  in fishermen’s pots. ¹⁹ 

Amos 4:4-5

Israel has an Appointment with God

4:4 “Go to Bethel ²⁰  and rebel! ²¹ 

At Gilgal ²²  rebel some more!

Bring your sacrifices in ²³  the morning,

your tithes on ²⁴  the third day!

4:5 Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! ²⁵ 

Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! ²⁶ 

For you love to do this, you Israelites.”

The sovereign Lord is speaking!

Amos 4:12

4:12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel.

Because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, Israel! ²⁷ 

Amos 5:14-15

5:14 Seek good and not evil so you can live!

Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you,

as you claim he is.

5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!

Promote ²⁸  justice at the city gate! ²⁹ 

Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on ³⁰  those who are left from ³¹  Joseph. ³² 

Amos 5:22

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ³³  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ³⁴ 

Amos 9:4

9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, ³⁵ 

from there ³⁶  I will command the sword to kill them.

I will not let them out of my sight;

they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” ³⁷ 

[1:6]  ¹ sn Gaza was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath). It was considered to mark the southern limit of Canaan at the point on the coast where it was located (Gen 10:19).

[1:6]  ² tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Gaza, even because of four.”

[1:6]  sn On the three…four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2 see the note on the word “four” in 1:3.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “[group of] exiles.” A number of English translations take this as a collective singular and translate it with a plural (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “in order to hand them over.”

[2:8]  ⁷ tn The words “They do so right” are supplied twice in the translation of this verse for clarification.

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[2:8]  ⁹ 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).

[4:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

[4:1]  ¹² tn Heb “their.”

[4:1]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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 Lord’s own holy character.

[4:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”

[4:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”

[4:2]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”

[4:2]  ¹⁹ 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.

[4:4]  ²⁰ sn Bethel and Gilgal were important formal worship centers because of their importance in Israel’s history. Here the Lord ironically urges the people to visit these places so they can increase their sin against him. Their formal worship, because it was not accompanied by social justice, only made them more guilty in God’s sight by adding hypocrisy to their list of sins. Obviously, theirs was a twisted view of the Lord. They worshiped a god of their own creation in order to satisfy their religious impulses (see 4:5: “For you love to do this”). Note that none of the rituals listed in 4:4-5 have to do with sin.

[4:4]  map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:4]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “rebel” (also in the following line) could very well refer here to Israel’s violations of their covenant with God (see also the term “crimes” in 1:3 [with note] and the phrase “covenant transgressions” in 2:4 [with note]; 3:14).

[4:4]  ²² sn See the note on Bethel earlier in this verse.

[4:4]  ²³ tn Or “for.”

[4:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “for.”

[4:5]  ²⁵ sn For the background of the thank offering of bread made with yeast, see Lev 7:13.

[4:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “proclaim voluntary offerings, announce.”

[4:12]  ²⁷ tn The Lord appears to announce a culminating judgment resulting from Israel’s obstinate refusal to repent. The following verse describes the Lord in his role as sovereign judge, but it does not outline the judgment per se. For this reason F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 450) take the prefixed verbal forms as preterites referring to the series of judgments detailed in vv. 6-11. It is more likely that a coming judgment is in view, but that its details are omitted for rhetorical effect, creating a degree of suspense (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 149-50) that will find its solution in chapter 5. This line is an ironic conclusion to the section begun at 4:4. Israel thought they were meeting the Lord at the sanctuaries, yet they actually had misunderstood how he had been trying to bring them back to himself. Now Israel would truly meet the Lord – not at the sanctuaries, but face-to-face in judgment.

[5:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “set up, establish.” In the ancient Near East it was the responsibility especially of the king to establish justice. Here the prophet extends that demand to local leaders and to the nation as a whole (cf. 5:24).

[5:15]  ²⁹ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate (see the note in v. 12). This repetition of this phrase serves to highlight a deliberate contrast to the injustices cited in vv. 11-13.

[5:15]  ³⁰ tn Or “will show favor to.”

[5:15]  ³¹ tn Or “the remnant of” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “what’s left of your people.”

[5:15]  ³² sn Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.

[5:22]  ³³ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”

[9:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Even if they go into captivity before their enemies.”

[9:4]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “I will set my eye on them for disaster, not good.”