Amos 3:9-12
Konteks3:9 Make this announcement in 1 the fortresses of Ashdod
and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Say this:
“Gather on the hills around Samaria! 2
Observe the many acts of violence 3 taking place within the city, 4
the oppressive deeds 5 occurring in it.” 6
3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.)
“They store up 7 the spoils of destructive violence 8 in their fortresses.
3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. 9
He will take away your power; 10
your fortresses will be looted.”
3:12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. 11
They will be left with just a corner of a bed, 12
and a part 13 of a couch.”
Amos 4:1-3
Konteks4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan 14 who live on Mount Samaria!
You 15 oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your 16 husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!” 17
4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: 18
“Certainly the time is approaching 19
when you will be carried away 20 in baskets, 21
every last one of you 22 in fishermen’s pots. 23
4:3 Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; 24
you will be thrown out 25 toward Harmon.” 26
The Lord is speaking!
Amos 6:1-7
Konteks6:1 Woe 27 to those who live in ease in Zion, 28
to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
They think of themselves as 29 the elite class of the best nation.
The family 30 of Israel looks to them for leadership. 31
6:2 They say to the people: 32
“Journey over to Calneh and look at it!
Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! 33
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines!
Are they superior to our two 34 kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?” 35
6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, 36
but you establish a reign of violence. 37
6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, 38
and sprawl out on their couches.
They eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the middle of the pen.
6:5 They sing 39 to the tune of 40 stringed instruments; 41
like David they invent 42 musical instruments.
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 43
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 44
Yet they are not concerned over 45 the ruin 46 of Joseph.
6:7 Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, 47
and the religious banquets 48 where they sprawl on couches 49 will end.
[3:9] 1 tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).
[3:9] 2 sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.
[3:9] map For location of the city see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[3:9] 3 tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.
[3:9] 4 tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”
[3:9] 5 tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).
[3:10] 8 tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.
[3:11] 9 tc The MT reads “an enemy and around the land.” It is also possible to take the MT as an exclamation (“an enemy, and all about the land!”; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 118; NJPS; cf. NLT).Most scholars and versions emend the text to יְסוֹבֵב (yÿsovev, Polel imperfect), “will encircle.”
[3:11] 10 tn Heb “He will bring down your power from you.” Some emend the text to read “Your power will be brought down from you.” The shift, however, from an active to a passive sense also appears at 3:14 (“I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off.”) The pronouns (“your…you”) are feminine singular, indicating that the personified city of Samaria is addressed here. Samaria’s “power” here is her defenses and/or wealth.
[3:12] 11 sn The verb translated salvaged, though often used in a positive sense of deliverance from harm, is here employed in a sarcastic manner. A shepherd would attempt to salvage part of an animal to prove that a predator had indeed killed it. In this way he could prove that he had not stolen the missing animal and absolve himself from any responsibility to repay the owner (see Exod 22:12-13).
[3:12] 12 tn Heb “with a corner of a bed.”
[3:12] 13 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דְּמֶשֶׁק (dÿmesheq), which occurs only here, is uncertain. If not emended, it is usually related to the term ַדּמֶּשֶׂק (dammeseq) and translated as the “Damask linens” of the bed (cf. NASB “the cover”) or as “in Damascus” (so KJV, NJB, NIV). The differences in spelling (Damascus is spelled correctly in 5:27), historical considerations, and the word order make both of these derivations unlikely. Many emendations have been proposed (e.g., “a part from the foot [of a bed],” based on a different division of the Hebrew letters (cf. NEB, NRSV); “on the edge,” based on a Hebrew term not attested in the Bible (NKJV). Some suggest a resemblance to an Akkadian term which means “sideboard [of a bed],” which is sometimes incorrectly rendered “headboard” (NJPS; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 121-22). Most likely another part of a bed or couch is in view, but it is difficult to be more specific.
[4:1] 14 sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.
[4:1] 15 tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).
[4:1] 17 sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).
[4:2] 18 tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”
[4:2] sn The message that follows is an unconditional oath, the fulfillment of which is just as certain as the
[4:2] 19 tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”
[4:2] 20 tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”
[4:2] 21 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.
[4:2] 22 tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”
[4:2] 23 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.
[4:2] sn The imagery of catching fish in connection with the captivity of Israel is also found in Jer 16:16 and Hab 1:14.
[4:3] 24 tn Heb “and [through the] breaches you will go out, each straight ahead.”
[4:3] 25 tn The Hiphil verb form has no object. It may be intransitive (F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 425), though many emend it to a Hophal.
[4:3] 26 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Many understand it as a place name, though such a location is not known. Some (e.g., H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos [Hermeneia[, 204) emend to “Hermon” or to similarly written words, such as “the dung heap” (NEB, NJPS), “the garbage dump” (NCV), or “the fortress” (cf. NLT “your fortresses”).
[6:1] 27 tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.
[6:1] 28 sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.
[6:1] 29 tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.
[6:1] 31 tn Heb “comes to them.”
[6:2] 32 tn The words “They say to the people” are interpretive and supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation understands v. 2 as the boastful words, which the leaders (described in v. 1) spoke to those who came to them (v. 1b). Some interpret v. 2 differently, understanding the words as directed to the leaders by the prophet. Verse 2b would then be translated: “Are you (i.e., Israel and Judah) better than these kingdoms (i.e., Calneh, etc.)? Is your border larger than their border?” (This reading requires an emendation of the Hebrew text toward the end of the verse.) In this case the verse is a reminder to Judah/Israel that they are not superior to other nations, which have already fallen victim to military conquest. Consequently Judah/Israel should not expect to escape the same fate. Following this line of interpretation, some take v. 2 as a later addition since the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser III conquered Calneh, Hamath, and Gath after the time of Amos’ ministry. However, this conclusion is not necessary since the kingdoms mentioned here had suffered military setbacks prior to Amos’ time as well. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 201-4.
[6:2] 33 tn Or “Great Hamath” (cf. NIV); or “Hamath the great” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the word “rabbah” means “great” in Hebrew.
[6:2] 34 tn Heb “to these,” referring to Judah and Israel (see v. 1a).
[6:2] 35 tn Both rhetorical questions in this verse expect the answer “no.” If these words do come from the leaders, then this verse underscores their self-delusion of power (compare 6:13). The prophet had no such mistaken sense of national grandeur (7:2, 5).
[6:3] 36 tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”
[6:3] 37 tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.
[6:4] 38 tn Heb “beds of ivory.”
[6:5] 39 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”
[6:5] 40 tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”
[6:5] 41 sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).
[6:5] 42 tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).
[6:6] 43 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
[6:6] 44 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
[6:6] 45 tn Or “not sickened by.”
[6:6] 46 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
[6:7] 47 tn Heb “they will go into exile at the head of the exiles.”
[6:7] 48 sn Religious banquets. This refers to the מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh), a type of pagan religious banquet popular among the upper class of Israel at this time and apparently associated with mourning. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 137-61; J. L. McLaughlin, The “Marzeah” in the Prophetic Literature (VTSup). Scholars debate whether at this banquet the dead were simply remembered or actually venerated in a formal, cultic sense.
