Amos 1:9
Konteks1:9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes 1 –
make that four! 2 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 3
They sold 4 a whole community 5 to Edom;
they failed to observe 6 a treaty of brotherhood. 7
Amos 9:6
Konteks9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 8 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 9 on the earth. 10
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
[1:9] 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.
[1:9] 2 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Tyre, even because of four.”
[1:9] 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.
[1:9] 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.
[1:9] 5 tn Heb “[group of] exiles.” A similar phrase occurs in v. 6.
[1:9] 6 tn Heb “did not remember.”
[1:9] 7 sn A treaty of brotherhood. In the ancient Near Eastern world familial terms were sometimes used to describe treaty partners. In a treaty between superior and inferior parties, the lord would be called “father” and the subject “son.” The partners in a treaty between equals referred to themselves as “brothers.” For biblical examples, see 1 Kgs 9:13; 20:32-33.
[9:6] 8 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] 9 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] 10 sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.