Amos 1:14

1:14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s ¹  city wall; ² 

fire ³  will consume her fortresses.

War cries will be heard on the day of battle; ⁴ 

a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. ⁵ 

Amos 2:2

2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, ⁶ 

and it will consume Kerioth’s ⁷  fortresses.

Moab will perish ⁸  in the heat of battle ⁹ 

amid war cries and the blaring ¹⁰  of the ram’s horn. ¹¹ 

[1:14]  ¹ sn Rabbah was the Ammonite capital.

[1:14]  ² sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

[1:14]  ³ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “with a war cry in the day of battle.”

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “with wind in the day of the windstorm.”

[1:14]  sn A windstorm is a metaphor for judgment and destruction in the OT (see Isa 29:6; Jer 23:19) and ancient Near Eastern literature.

[2:2]  ⁶ sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the Lord will punish them by setting them on fire.

[2:2]  ⁷ sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[2:2]  ¹¹ sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.