Amos 1:13

1:13 This is what the Lord says:

“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes ¹  –

make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³ 

They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women ⁴ 

so they could expand their territory.

Amos 4:7

4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. ⁵ 

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

One field ⁶  would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

Amos 9:13

9:13 “Be sure of this, ⁷  the time is ⁸  coming,” says the Lord,

“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper ⁹ 

and the one who stomps the grapes ¹⁰  will overtake ¹¹  the planter. ¹² 

Juice will run down the slopes, ¹³ 

it will flow down all the hillsides. ¹⁴ 

[1:13]  ¹ 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.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “Because of three violations of the Ammonites, even because of four.”
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.

[1:13]  ³ 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.

[1:13]  ⁴ sn The Ammonites ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women in conjunction with a military invasion designed to expand their territory. Such atrocities, although repugnant, were not uncommon in ancient Near Eastern warfare.

[4:7]  ⁵ sn Rain…three months before the harvest refers to the rains of late March-early April.

[4:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “portion”; KJV, ASV “piece”; NASB “part.” The same word occurs a second time later in this verse.

[9:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

[9:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “the days are.”

[9:13]  ⁹ sn The plowman will catch up to the reaper. Plowing occurred in October-November, and harvesting in April-May (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109.) But in the future age of restored divine blessing, there will be so many crops the reapers will take all summer to harvest them, and it will be time for plowing again before the harvest is finished.

[9:13]  ¹⁰ sn When the grapes had been harvested, they were placed in a press where workers would stomp on them with their feet and squeeze out the juice. For a discussion of grape harvesting technique, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-12.

[9:13]  ¹¹ tn The verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[9:13]  ¹² sn The grape harvest occurred in August-September, planting in November-December (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109). But in the future age described here there will be so many grapes the workers who stomp them will still be working when the next planting season arrives.

[9:13]  ¹³ tn Or “hills,” where the vineyards were planted.

[9:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and all the hills will melt.”