Amos 2:2

2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, ¹ 

and it will consume Kerioth’s ²  fortresses.

Moab will perish ³  in the heat of battle ⁴ 

amid war cries and the blaring ⁵  of the ram’s horn. ⁶ 

Amos 9:5

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ⁷ 

He touches the earth and it dissolves; ⁸ 

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth ⁹  rises like the River Nile, ¹⁰ 

and then grows calm ¹¹  like the Nile in Egypt. ¹² 

[2:2]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.

[2:2]  ³ tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”

[2:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[2:2]  ⁶ sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.

[9:5]  ⁷ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ⁸ tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

[9:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “all of it.”

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “sinks back down.”

[9:5]  ¹² sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.