Amos 1:4-5
Konteks1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house 1 on fire;
fire 2 will consume Ben Hadad’s 3 fortresses.
1:5 I will break the bar 4 on the gate of Damascus.
I will remove 5 the ruler 6 from Wicked Valley, 7
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. 8
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” 9
The Lord has spoken!
Amos 4:13
Konteks4:13 For here he is!
He 10 formed the mountains and created the wind.
He reveals 11 his plans 12 to men.
He turns the dawn into darkness 13
and marches on the heights of the earth.
The Lord, the God who commands armies, 14 is his name!”
Amos 5:8-9
Konteks5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight 15 into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
5:9 He flashes 16 destruction down upon the strong
so that destruction overwhelms 17 the fortified places.)
Amos 9:5-6
Konteks9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. 18
He touches the earth and it dissolves; 19
all who live on it mourn.
The whole earth 20 rises like the River Nile, 21
and then grows calm 22 like the Nile in Egypt. 23
9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 24 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 25 on the earth. 26
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
Amos 9:8-15
Konteks9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching 27 the sinful nation, 28
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family 29 of Jacob,” says the Lord.
9:9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground. 30
9:10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword –
the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’
9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut 31 of David.
I will seal its 32 gaps,
repair its 33 ruins,
and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. 34
9:12 As a result they 35 will conquer those left in Edom 36
and all the nations subject to my rule.” 37
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
9:13 “Be sure of this, 38 the time is 39 coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper 40
and the one who stomps the grapes 41 will overtake 42 the planter. 43
Juice will run down the slopes, 44
it will flow down all the hillsides. 45
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 46
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 47 and settle down. 48
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 49
they will grow orchards 50 and eat the fruit they produce. 51
9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the 52 land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
[1:4] 1 tn “Hazael’s house” (“the house of Hazael”) refers to the dynasty of Hazael.
[1:4] sn Hazael took the throne of Aram in 843
[1:4] 2 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:4] 3 sn Ben-hadad may refer to Hazael’s son and successor (2 Kgs 13:3, 24) or to an earlier king (see 1 Kgs 20), perhaps the ruler whom Hazael assassinated when he assumed power.
[1:5] 4 sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
[1:5] 6 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] 7 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] 8 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] 9 sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The
[4:13] 10 tn Heb “For look, the one who.” This verse is considered to be the first hymnic passage in the book. The others appear at 5:8-9 and 9:5-6. Scholars debate whether these verses were originally part of a single hymn or three distinct pieces deliberately placed in each context for particular effect.
[4:13] 11 tn Or “declares” (NAB, NASB).
[4:13] 12 tn Or “his thoughts.” The translation assumes that the pronominal suffix refers to God and that divine self-revelation is in view (see 3:7). If the suffix refers to the following term אָדַם (’adam, “men”), then the expression refers to God’s ability to read men’s minds.
[4:13] 13 tn Heb “he who makes dawn, darkness.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation assumes that allusion is made to God’s approaching judgment, when the light of day will be turned to darkness (see 5:20). Other options include: (1) “He makes the dawn [and] the darkness.” A few Hebrew
[4:13] 14 tn Traditionally, “God of hosts.”
[5:8] 15 tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”
[5:9] 16 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.
[5:9] 17 tn Heb “comes upon.” Many prefer to repoint the verb as Hiphil and translate, “he brings destruction upon the fortified places.”
[9:5] 18 tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:5] 19 tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.
[9:5] 21 tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:5] 22 tn Or “sinks back down.”
[9:5] 23 sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.
[9:6] 24 tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).
[9:6] 25 tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.
[9:6] 26 sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.
[9:8] 27 tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign
[9:8] 29 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
[9:9] 30 tn Heb “like being shaken with a sieve, and a pebble does not fall to the ground.” The meaning of the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror), translated “pebble,” is unclear here. In 2 Sam 17:13 it appears to refer to a stone. If it means “pebble,” then the sieve described in v. 6 allows the grain to fall into a basket while retaining the debris and pebbles. However, if one interprets צְרוֹר as a “kernel of grain” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT) then the sieve is constructed to retain the grain and allow the refuse and pebbles to fall to the ground. In either case, the simile supports the last statement in v. 8 by making it clear that God will distinguish between the righteous (the grain) and the wicked (the pebbles) when he judges, and will thereby preserve a remnant in Israel. Only the sinners will be destroyed (v. 10).
[9:11] 31 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] 32 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] 33 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] 34 tn Heb “and I will rebuild as in days of antiquity.”
[9:12] 35 sn They probably refers to the Israelites or to the Davidic rulers of the future.
[9:12] 36 tn Heb “take possession of the remnant of Edom”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “possess the remnant of Edom.”
[9:12] 37 tn Heb “nations over whom my name is proclaimed.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership, sometimes as a result of conquest. See 2 Sam 12:28.
[9:12] sn This verse envisions a new era of Israelite rule, perhaps patterned after David’s imperialistic successes (see 2 Sam 8-10). At the same time, however, the verse does not specify how this rule is to be accomplished. Note that the book ends with a description of peace and abundance, and its final reference to God (v. 15) does not include the epithet “the Lord who commands armies,” which has militaristic overtones. This is quite a different scene than what the book began with: nations at war and standing under the judgment of God.
[9:13] 38 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
[9:13] 39 tn Heb “the days are.”
[9:13] 40 sn The plowman will catch up to the reaper. Plowing occurred in October-November, and harvesting in April-May (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109.) But in the future age of restored divine blessing, there will be so many crops the reapers will take all summer to harvest them, and it will be time for plowing again before the harvest is finished.
[9:13] 41 sn When the grapes had been harvested, they were placed in a press where workers would stomp on them with their feet and squeeze out the juice. For a discussion of grape harvesting technique, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-12.
[9:13] 42 tn The verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation from the parallel line.
[9:13] 43 sn The grape harvest occurred in August-September, planting in November-December (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109). But in the future age described here there will be so many grapes the workers who stomp them will still be working when the next planting season arrives.
[9:13] 44 tn Or “hills,” where the vineyards were planted.
[9:13] 45 tn Heb “and all the hills will melt.”
[9:14] 46 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] 47 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
[9:14] 48 tn Or “and live [in them].”
[9:14] 49 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
[9:14] 51 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”
[9:15] 52 tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.
