Amos 3:15

3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. ¹ 

The houses filled with ivory ²  will be ruined,

the great ³  houses will be swept away.” ⁴ 

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 8:4

8:4 Listen to this, you who trample ⁵  the needy,

and do away with ⁶  the destitute in the land.

Amos 6:7

6:7 Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, ⁷ 

and the religious banquets ⁸  where they sprawl on couches ⁹  will end.

Amos 5:5

5:5 Do not seek Bethel! ¹⁰ 

Do not visit Gilgal!

Do not journey down ¹¹  to Beer Sheba!

For the people of Gilgal ¹²  will certainly be carried into exile; ¹³ 

and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” ¹⁴ 

Amos 2:3

2:3 I will remove ¹⁵  Moab’s leader; ¹⁶ 

I will kill all Moab’s ¹⁷  officials ¹⁸  with him.”

The Lord has spoken!

Amos 1:8

1:8 I will remove ¹⁹  the ruler ²⁰  from Ashdod, ²¹ 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. ²² 

I will strike Ekron ²³  with my hand; ²⁴ 

the rest of the Philistines will also die.” ²⁵ 

The sovereign Lord has spoken!

Amos 9:8

9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching ²⁶  the sinful nation, ²⁷ 

and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.

But I will not completely destroy the family ²⁸  of Jacob,” says the Lord.

Amos 1:5

1:5 I will break the bar ²⁹  on the gate of Damascus.

I will remove ³⁰  the ruler ³¹  from Wicked Valley, ³² 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. ³³ 

The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” ³⁴ 

The Lord has spoken!

[3:15]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”

[3:15]  ⁴ 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.

[8:4]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.

[8:4]  ⁶ tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”

[6:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “they will go into exile at the head of the exiles.”

[6:7]  ⁸ sn Religious banquets. This refers to the מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh), a type of pagan religious banquet popular among the upper class of Israel at this time and apparently associated with mourning. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 137-61; J. L. McLaughlin, The “Marzeah” in the Prophetic Literature (VTSup). Scholars debate whether at this banquet the dead were simply remembered or actually venerated in a formal, cultic sense.

[6:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “of the sprawled out.” See v. 4.

[5:5]  ¹⁰ sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).

[5:5]  map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[5:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cross over.”

[5:5]  sn To worship at Beer Sheba, northern worshipers had to journey down (i.e., cross the border) between Israel and Judah. Apparently, the popular religion of Israel for some included pilgrimage to holy sites in the South.

[5:5]  ¹² tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:5]  ¹³ tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.

[5:5]  sn That the people of Gilgal would be taken into exile is ironic, for Gilgal was Israel’s first campsite when the people entered the land under Joshua and the city became a symbol of Israel’s possession of the promised land.

[5:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

[5:5]  sn Again there is irony. The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew. How surprising and tragic that Bethel, the “house of God” where Jacob received the inheritance given to Abraham, would be overrun by disaster.

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “root out”; NCV “bring to an end.”

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the leader [traditionally, “judge”] from her midst.”

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “princes” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT); TEV, CEV “leaders.”

[1:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some translations take this expression as a collective singular referring to the inhabitants rather than the ruler (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[1:8]  ²¹ sn Ashdod was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ²² sn Ashkelon was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ²³ sn Ekron was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Gath).

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I will turn my hand against Ekron.” For other uses of the idiom, “turn the hand against,” see Ps 81:14; Isa 1:25; Jer 6:9; Zech 13:7.

[1:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and the remnant of the Philistines will perish.” The translation above assumes that reference is made to other Philistines beside those living in the cities mentioned. Another option is to translate, “Every last Philistine will die.”

[9:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign Lord are on.”

[9:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “kingdom.”

[9:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

[1:5]  ²⁹ sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

[1:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some English versions take the Hebrew term in a collective sense as “inhabitants” (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV). The context and the parallel in the next clause (“the one who holds the royal scepter”), however, suggest that the royal house is in view. For this term (יוֹשֵׁב, yoshev), see N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, 512-30.

[1:5]  ³² tn Heb “valley of wickedness.” Though many English versions take the Hebrew phrase בִקְעַת־אָוֶן (biq’-at ’aven) as a literal geographical place name (“Valley of Aven,” so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), it appears to be a derogatory epithet for Damascus and the kingdom of Aram.

[1:5]  ³³ tn Many associate the name “Beth Eden” with Bit Adini, an Aramean state located near the Euphrates River, but it may be a sarcastic epithet meaning “house of pleasure.”

[1:5]  ³⁴ sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The Lord threatens to reverse their history and send them back there.