1:8 I will remove 1 the ruler 2 from Ashdod, 3
the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. 4
I will strike Ekron 5 with my hand; 6
the rest of the Philistines will also die.” 7
The sovereign Lord has spoken!
4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: 8
“Certainly the time is approaching 9
when you will be carried away 10 in baskets, 11
every last one of you 12 in fishermen’s pots. 13
5:6 Seek the Lord so you can live!
Otherwise he will break out 14 like fire against Joseph’s 15 family; 16
the fire 17 will consume
and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. 18
6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?
Can one plow the sea with oxen? 19
Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,
and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. 20
“Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel.
I will no longer overlook their sin. 21
1 tn Heb “cut off.”
2 tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some translations take this expression as a collective singular referring to the inhabitants rather than the ruler (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).
3 sn Ashdod was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).
4 sn Ashkelon was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath).
5 sn Ekron was one of the five major Philistine cities (along with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Gath).
6 tn Heb “I will turn my hand against Ekron.” For other uses of the idiom, “turn the hand against,” see Ps 81:14; Isa 1:25; Jer 6:9; Zech 13:7.
7 tn Heb “and the remnant of the Philistines will perish.” The translation above assumes that reference is made to other Philistines beside those living in the cities mentioned. Another option is to translate, “Every last Philistine will die.”
8 tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”
sn The message that follows is an unconditional oath, the fulfillment of which is just as certain as the
9 tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”
10 tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”
11 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.
12 tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”
13 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.
sn The imagery of catching fish in connection with the captivity of Israel is also found in Jer 16:16 and Hab 1:14.
14 tn Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.
15 sn Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
16 tn Heb “house.”
17 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “to/for Bethel.” The translation assumes that the preposition indicates advantage, “on behalf of.” Another option is to take the preposition as vocative, “O Bethel.”
19 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!”
20 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.
21 tn Heb “And I will no longer pass over him.”