Amos 5:18

The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Woe ¹  to those who wish for the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?

It will bring darkness, not light.

Amos 5:25

5:25 You did not bring me ²  sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family ³  of Israel.

Amos 8:8

8:8 Because of this the earth ⁴  will quake, ⁵ 

and all who live in it will mourn.

The whole earth ⁶  will rise like the River Nile, ⁷ 

it will surge upward ⁸  and then grow calm, ⁹  like the Nile in Egypt. ¹⁰ 

Amos 9:5

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ¹¹ 

He touches the earth and it dissolves; ¹² 

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth ¹³  rises like the River Nile, ¹⁴ 

and then grows calm ¹⁵  like the Nile in Egypt. ¹⁶ 

[5:18]  ¹ tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.

[5:25]  ² tn Heb “Did you bring me…?” This rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The point seems to be this: Since sacrifices did not characterize God’s relationship with Israel during the nation’s formative years, the people should not consider them to be so fundamental. The Lord places a higher priority on justice than he does on empty ritual.

[5:25]  sn Like Jer 7:22-23, this passage seems to contradict the Pentateuchal accounts that indicate Israel did offer sacrifices during the wilderness period. It is likely that both Amos and Jeremiah overstate the case to emphasize the relative insignificance of sacrifices in comparison to weightier matters of the covenant. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 428.

[5:25]  ³ tn Heb “house.”

[8:8]  ⁴ tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).

[8:8]  ⁵ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

[8:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “all of it.”

[8:8]  ⁷ tc The MT reads “like the light” (כָאֹר, kha’or; note this term also appears in v. 9), which is commonly understood to be an error for “like the Nile” (כִּיאוֹר, ki’or). See the parallel line and Amos 9:5. The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity. If this emendation is correct, in the Hebrew of Amos “Nile” is actually spelled three slightly different ways.

[8:8]  sn The movement of the quaking earth is here compared to the annual flooding and receding of the River Nile.

[8:8]  ⁸ tn Or “churn.”

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn The entire verse is phrased in a series of rhetorical questions which anticipate the answer, “Of course!” (For example, the first line reads, “Because of this will the earth not quake?”). The rhetorical questions entrap the listener in the logic of the judgment of God (cf. 3:3-6; 9:7). The rhetorical questions have been converted to affirmative statements in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ¹² tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

[9:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “all of it.”

[9:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “sinks back down.”

[9:5]  ¹⁶ sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.