Amos 5:12

5:12 Certainly ¹  I am aware of ²  your many rebellious acts ³ 

and your numerous sins.

You ⁴  torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to ⁵  the needy at the city gate. ⁶ 

Amos 6:12

6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?

Can one plow the sea with oxen? ⁷ 

Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,

and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. ⁸ 

Amos 8:8

8:8 Because of this the earth ⁹  will quake, ¹⁰ 

and all who live in it will mourn.

The whole earth ¹¹  will rise like the River Nile, ¹² 

it will surge upward ¹³  and then grow calm, ¹⁴  like the Nile in Egypt. ¹⁵ 

Amos 9:5

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ¹⁶ 

He touches the earth and it dissolves; ¹⁷ 

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth ¹⁸  rises like the River Nile, ¹⁹ 

and then grows calm ²⁰  like the Nile in Egypt. ²¹ 

[5:12]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[5:12]  ² tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).

[5:12]  ³ tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Those who.”

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).

[5:12]  ⁶ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[6:12]  ⁷ tc Heb “Does one plow with oxen?” This obviously does not fit the parallelism, for the preceding rhetorical question requires the answer, “Of course not!” An error of fusion has occurred in the Hebrew, with the word יָם (yam, “sea”) being accidentally added as a plural ending to the collective noun בָּקָר (baqar, “oxen”). A proper division of the consonants produces the above translation, which fits the parallelism and also anticipates the answer, “Of course not!”

[6:12]  ⁸ sn The botanical imagery, when juxtaposed with the preceding rhetorical questions, vividly depicts and emphasizes how the Israelites have perverted justice and violated the created order by their morally irrational behavior.

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).

[8:8]  ¹⁰ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

[8:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all of it.”

[8:8]  ¹² tc The MT reads “like the light” (כָאֹר, kha’or; note this term also appears in v. 9), which is commonly understood to be an error for “like the Nile” (כִּיאוֹר, ki’or). See the parallel line and Amos 9:5. The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity. If this emendation is correct, in the Hebrew of Amos “Nile” is actually spelled three slightly different ways.

[8:8]  sn The movement of the quaking earth is here compared to the annual flooding and receding of the River Nile.

[8:8]  ¹³ tn Or “churn.”

[8:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.

[8:8]  ¹⁵ tn The entire verse is phrased in a series of rhetorical questions which anticipate the answer, “Of course!” (For example, the first line reads, “Because of this will the earth not quake?”). The rhetorical questions entrap the listener in the logic of the judgment of God (cf. 3:3-6; 9:7). The rhetorical questions have been converted to affirmative statements in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹⁶ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

[9:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all of it.”

[9:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “sinks back down.”

[9:5]  ²¹ sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.