Amos 4:6-8

4:6 “But surely I gave ¹  you no food to eat in any of your cities;

you lacked food everywhere you live. ² 

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. ³ 

I gave rain to one city, but not to another.

One field ⁴  would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

4:8 People from ⁵  two or three cities staggered into one city to get ⁶  water,

but remained thirsty. ⁷ 

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

[4:6]  ¹ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic (pronoun + verb). It underscores the stark contrast between the judgments that the Lord had been sending with the God of blessing Israel was celebrating in its worship (4:4-5).

[4:6]  ² tn Heb “But I gave to you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of food in all your places.” The phrase “cleanness of teeth” is a vivid way of picturing the famine Israel experienced.

[4:7]  ³ sn Rain…three months before the harvest refers to the rains of late March-early April.

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “portion”; KJV, ASV “piece”; NASB “part.” The same word occurs a second time later in this verse.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn The words “people from” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “to drink.”

[4:8]  ⁷ tn Or “were not satisfied.”