Amos 2:9

2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. ¹ 

They were as tall as cedars ² 

and as strong as oaks,

but I destroyed the fruit on their branches ³ 

and their roots in the ground. ⁴ 

Amos 5:8

5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;

he can turn the darkness into morning

and daylight ⁵  into night.

He summons the water of the seas

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name!

Amos 5:19

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ⁶ 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ⁷  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

Amos 9:4

9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, ⁸ 

from there ⁹  I will command the sword to kill them.

I will not let them out of my sight;

they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” ¹⁰ 

Amos 9:6

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ¹¹  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ¹²  on the earth. ¹³ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “I destroyed the Amorites from before them.” The translation takes מִפְּנֵי (mippÿney) in the sense of “for the sake of.” See BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֻה II.6.a and H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos (Hermeneia), 134. Another option is to take the phrase in a spatial sense, “I destroyed the Amorites, [clearing them out] from before them [i.e., Israel]” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “whose height was like the height of cedars.”

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “his fruit from above.”

[2:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his roots from below.”

[5:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”

[5:19]  ⁶ tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[9:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Even if they go into captivity before their enemies.”

[9:4]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will set my eye on them for disaster, not good.”

[9:6]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.