Amos 7:9

7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship ¹  will become desolate;

Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.

I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” ² 

Amos 9:11

The Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty

9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut ³  of David.

I will seal its ⁴  gaps,

repair its ⁵  ruins,

and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. ⁶ 

Amos 5:17

5:17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing,

for I will pass through ⁷  your midst,” says the Lord.

Amos 6:12

6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?

Can one plow the sea with oxen? ⁸ 

Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,

and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. ⁹ 

Amos 8:6

8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, ¹⁰ 

a pair of sandals ¹¹  for the needy!

We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” ¹² 

Amos 1:5

1:5 I will break the bar ¹³  on the gate of Damascus.

I will remove ¹⁴  the ruler ¹⁵  from Wicked Valley, ¹⁶ 

the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. ¹⁷ 

The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” ¹⁸ 

The Lord has spoken!

Amos 4:7

4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. ¹⁹ 

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

One field ²⁰  would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

Amos 4:9

4:9 “I destroyed your crops ²¹  with blight and disease.

Locusts kept ²²  devouring your orchards, ²³  vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees.

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

Amos 9:14

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ²⁴ 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ²⁵  and settle down. ²⁶ 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ²⁷ 

they will grow orchards ²⁸  and eat the fruit they produce. ²⁹ 

[7:9]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”

[7:9]  ² tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”

[9:11]  ³ tn The phrase translated “collapsing hut” refers to a temporary shelter (cf. NASB, NRSV “booth”) in disrepair and emphasizes the relatively weakened condition of the once powerful Davidic dynasty. Others have suggested that the term refers to Jerusalem, while still others argue that it should be repointed to read “Sukkoth,” a garrison town in Transjordan. Its reconstruction would symbolize the rebirth of the Davidic empire and its return to power (e.g., M. E. Polley, Amos and the Davidic Empire, 71-74).

[9:11]  ⁴ tc The MT reads a third feminine plural suffix, which could refer to the two kingdoms (Judah and Israel) or, more literally, to the breaches in the walls of the cities that are mentioned in v. 4 (cf. 4:3). Some emend to third feminine singular, since the “hut” of the preceding line (a feminine singular noun) might be the antecedent. In that case, the final nun (ן) is virtually dittographic with the vav (ו) that appears at the beginning of the following word.

[9:11]  ⁵ tc The MT reads a third masculine singular suffix, which could refer back to David. However, it is possible that an original third feminine singular suffix (יה-, yod-hey) has been misread as masculine (יו-, yod-vav). In later Hebrew script a ה (he) resembles a יו- (yod-vav) combination.

[9:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I will rebuild as in days of antiquity.”

[5:17]  ⁷ sn The expression pass through your midst alludes to Exod 12:12, where the Lord announced he would “pass through” Egypt and bring death to the Egyptian firstborn.

[6:12]  ⁸ tc Heb “Does one plow with oxen?” This obviously does not fit the parallelism, for the preceding rhetorical question requires the answer, “Of course not!” An error of fusion has occurred in the Hebrew, with the word יָם (yam, “sea”) being accidentally added as a plural ending to the collective noun בָּקָר (baqar, “oxen”). A proper division of the consonants produces the above translation, which fits the parallelism and also anticipates the answer, “Of course not!”

[6:12]  ⁹ sn The botanical imagery, when juxtaposed with the preceding rhetorical questions, vividly depicts and emphasizes how the Israelites have perverted justice and violated the created order by their morally irrational behavior.

[8:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”

[8:6]  sn The expression trade silver for the poor refers to the slave trade.

[8:6]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “sandals” in 2:6.

[8:6]  ¹² tn Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”

[1:5]  ¹³ sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The Lord threatens to reverse their history and send them back there.

[4:7]  ¹⁹ sn Rain…three months before the harvest refers to the rains of late March-early April.

[4:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “portion”; KJV, ASV “piece”; NASB “part.” The same word occurs a second time later in this verse.

[4:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “you.” By metonymy the crops belonging to these people are meant. See the remainder of this verse, which describes the agricultural devastation caused by locusts.

[4:9]  ²² tn The Hiphil infinitive construct is taken adverbially (“kept”) and connected to the activity of the locusts (NJPS). It also could be taken with the preceding sentence and related to the Lord’s interventions (“I kept destroying,” cf. NEB, NJB, NIV, NRSV), or it could be understood substantivally in construct with the following nouns (“Locusts devoured your many orchards,” cf. NASB; cf. also KJV, NKJV).

[4:9]  ²³ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ²⁴ tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).

[9:14]  ²⁵ tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ²⁶ tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”