Amos 5:3

5:3 The sovereign Lord says this:

“The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers ¹  will have only a hundred left;

the town ²  that marches out with a hundred soldiers ³  will have only ten left for the family of Israel.” ⁴ 

Amos 5:12

5:12 Certainly ⁵  I am aware of ⁶  your many rebellious acts ⁷ 

and your numerous sins.

You ⁸  torment the innocent, you take bribes,

and you deny justice to ⁹  the needy at the city gate. ¹⁰ 

Amos 9:9

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. ¹¹ 

[5:3]  ¹ tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ² tn Heb “The one.” The word “town” has been used in the translation in keeping with the relative sizes of the armed contingents sent out by each. It is also possible that this line is speaking of the same city of the previous line. In other words, the contingent sent by that one city would have suffered a ninety-nine percent casualty loss.

[5:3]  ³ tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “for/to the house of Israel.” The translation assumes that this is a graphic picture of what is left over for the defense of the nation (NEB, NJB, NASB, NKJV). Others suggest that this phrase completes the introductory formula (“The sovereign Lord says this…”; see v. 4a; NJPS). Another option is that the preposition has a vocative force, “O house of Israel” (F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 476). Some simply delete the phrase as dittography from the following line (NIV).

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[5:12]  ⁶ tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).

[5:12]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “Those who.”

[5:12]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.

[9:9]  ¹¹ 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).