Amos 1:7

1:7 So I will set Gaza’s city wall ¹  on fire;

fire ²  will consume her fortresses.

Amos 1:10

1:10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; ³ 

fire ⁴  will consume her fortresses.”

Amos 1:12

1:12 So I will set Teman ⁵  on fire;

fire ⁶  will consume Bozrah’s ⁷  fortresses.”

Amos 2:5

2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,

and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” ⁸ 

Amos 5:4

5:4 The Lord says this to the family ⁹  of Israel:

“Seek me ¹⁰  so you can live!

Amos 5:9

5:9 He flashes ¹¹  destruction down upon the strong

so that destruction overwhelms ¹²  the fortified places.)

---

¹ sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.

⁴ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn Teman was an important region (or perhaps city) in Edom.

⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ sn Bozrah was a city located in northern Edom.

⁸ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁹ tn Heb “house.”

¹⁰ sn The following verses explain what it meant to seek the Lord. Israel was to abandon the mere formalism and distorted view of God and reality that characterized religious activity at the worship sites, as well as the social injustice that permeated Israelite society. Instead the people were to repent and promote justice in the land. This call to seek the Lord echoes the challenge in 4:13 to prepare to meet him as he truly is.

¹¹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.

¹² tn Heb “comes upon.” Many prefer to repoint the verb as Hiphil and translate, “he brings destruction upon the fortified places.”