Amos 7:10

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ¹  sent this message ²  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ³  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ⁴ 

Amos 9:6

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ⁵  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ⁶  on the earth. ⁷ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

[7:10]  ¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ² tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ³ tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “words.”

[9:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.