Yesaya 5:26

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ¹ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ²  come quickly and swiftly.

Yesaya 7:18

7:18 At that time ³  the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. ⁴ 

Yesaya 13:2

13:2 ⁵ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Yesaya 13:4

13:4 ⁶ There is a loud noise on the mountains –

it sounds like a large army! ⁷ 

There is great commotion among the kingdoms ⁸  –

nations are being assembled!

The Lord who commands armies is mustering

forces for battle.

Yesaya 26:11

26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, ⁹ 

but they don’t even notice.

They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, ¹⁰ 

yes, fire will consume your enemies. ¹¹ 

Amos 3:6-8

3:6 If an alarm sounds ¹²  in a city, do people not fear? ¹³ 

If disaster overtakes a ¹⁴  city, is the Lord not responsible? ¹⁵ 

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

3:8 A lion has roared! ¹⁶  Who is not afraid?

The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? ¹⁷ 

Mikha 6:9

6:9 Listen! The Lord is calling ¹⁸  to the city!

It is wise to respect your authority, O Lord! ¹⁹ 

Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city! ²⁰ 

Zakharia 9:14

9:14 Then the Lord will appear above them, and his arrow will shoot forth like lightning; the Lord God will blow the trumpet and will sally forth on the southern storm winds.

Matius 13:9

13:9 The one who has ears had better listen!” ²¹ 

Matius 13:16

13:16 “But your eyes are blessed ²²  because they see, and your ears because they hear.

[5:26]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.

[5:26]  ² tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.

[7:18]  ³ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:18]  ⁴ sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.

[13:2]  ⁵ sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).

[13:4]  ⁶ sn In vv. 4-10 the prophet appears to be speaking, since the Lord is referred to in the third person. However, since the Lord refers to himself in the third person later in this chapter (see v. 13), it is possible that he speaks throughout the chapter.

[13:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “a sound, a roar [is] on the mountains, like many people.”

[13:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “a sound, tumult of kingdoms.”

[26:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”

[26:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”

[26:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”

[3:6]  ¹² tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”

[3:6]  ¹³ tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”

[3:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”

[3:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”

[3:8]  ¹⁶ sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.

[3:8]  ¹⁷ sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.

[6:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the voice of the Lord is calling.” The translation understands קוֹל (qol, “voice”) as equivalent to an imperative.

[6:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “one who sees your name is wisdom.” It is probably better to emend יִרְאֶה (yir’eh, “he sees”) to יִרְאָה (yir’ah, “fearing”). One may then translate, “fearing your name is wisdom.” The Lord’s “name” here stands by metonymy for his authority.

[6:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb (apparently) “Listen [to] the staff and the one who appointed it.” Verse 10 then begins with עוֹד (yod, “still” or “again”). The translation assumes an emendation to שִׁמְעוּ מַטֶּה וּמוֹעֵד הָעִיר (shim’u matteh umo’ed ha’ir, “listen, O tribe and the assembly of the city”).

[13:9]  ²¹ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15, 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

[13:16]  ²² sn This beatitude highlights the great honor bestowed on the disciples to share in this salvation.