Amos 1:15

1:15 Ammon’s ¹  king will be deported; ² 

he and his officials ³  will be carried off ⁴  together.”

The Lord has spoken!

Amos 2:13

2:13 Look! I will press you down,

like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. ⁵ 

Amos 3:13

3:13 Listen and warn ⁶  the family ⁷  of Jacob! ⁸ 

The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, ⁹  is speaking!

[1:15]  ¹ tn Heb “their”; the referent (Ammon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:15]  ² tn Heb “will go into exile.”

[1:15]  ³ tn Or “princes” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT); TEV “officers”; CEV “leaders.”

[1:15]  ⁴ tn The words “will be carried off” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:13]  ⁵ tn The precise meaning of this verse is unclear. Various suggested meanings have been proposed (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 94): (1) One option is to relate the verb to an Arabic verb, meaning “to hinder; to hamper,” and translate, “I am making you immobile, like a cart filled with grain is immobile.” In this case, the Lord refers to Israel’s inability to escape his coming judgment (see vv. 14-16; NJPS). (2) Another view relates the verb to a different Arabic verb meaning “to cut in pieces,” translating “I will cut you in pieces as a cart cuts in pieces [the earth],” referring to the ruts and rifts in the ground caused by an earthquake. (3) Some relate the verb to an Arabic root meaning “to groan” with the idea that the Lord causes the ground underneath Israel to groan (cf. NLT). (4) The translation connects the verb to an Aramaism signifying to “press down” (cf. NIV, NRSV). Some English versions translate the verb in an intransitive sense as “I am weighted down” (cf. NASB, NKJV) or “I groan beneath you” (NEB). For this last option, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 334.

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Or “testify against.”

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[3:13]  ⁸ tn These words are spoken to either the unidentified heralds addressed at the beginning of v. 9, or to the Egyptians and Philistines (see v. 9b). Another possibility is that one is not to look for a specific addressee but rather appreciate the command simply as a rhetorical device to grab the attention of the listeners and readers of the prophetic message.

[3:13]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”