2:4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions 1 –
make that four! 2 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 3
They rejected the Lord’s law; 4
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods, 5
to which their fathers were loyal, 6
led them astray.
5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops 7
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine 8 vineyards you planted. 9
9:1 I saw the sovereign One 10 standing by the altar 11 and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, 12 so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people, 13
and I will kill the survivors 14 with the sword.
No one will be able to run away; 15
no one will be able to escape. 16
1 tn This is the same Hebrew term that is translated “crimes” in the previous oracles (see at 1:3). The change to “covenant transgressions” reflects the probability that the prophet is condemning the nation of Israel for violating stipulations of the Mosaic Law.
2 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Judah, even because of four.”
sn On the three…four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2 see the note on the word “four” in 1:3.
3 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.
4 tn Or “instruction”; NCV “teachings.”
5 tn Heb “lies.” This may very well be a derogatory term for idols (perhaps also at Ps. 40:4 [Heb 40:5]). Elsewhere false gods are called “vanities” (Deut 32:21; 1 Kgs 16:13, 26) and a delusion (Isa 66:3). In no other prophetic passages, however, are they called “lies.” The term could refer to the deceptions of false prophets (note Ezek 13:6-9; cf. Hab 2:3). See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 301-6.
6 tn Heb “after which their fathers walked.” The expression “to walk after” is an idiom meaning “to be loyal to.” See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 75-76.
sn Here the idolatry of the parents carried over to the children, who persisted in worshiping the idols to which their fathers were loyal.
7 tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).
8 tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”
9 tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”
10 tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
11 sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.
12 tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.
13 tn Heb “cut them off on the head of all of them.” The translation assumes the objective suffix on the verb refers to the tops of the pillars and that the following prepositional phrase refers to the people standing beneath. Another option is to take this phrase as referring to the pillars, in which case one could translate, “Knock all the tops of the pillars off.”
14 tn Heb “the remnant of them.” One could possibly translate, “every last one of them” (cf. NEB “to the last man”). This probably refers to those who survive the collapse of the temple, which may symbolize the northern kingdom.
15 tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”
16 tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”