4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan 1 who live on Mount Samaria!
You 2 oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your 3 husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!” 4
5:18 Woe 5 to those who wish for the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
6:14 “Look! I am about to bring 6 a nation against you, family 7 of Israel.”
The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress 8 you all the way from Lebo-Hamath 9 to the Stream of the Arabah.” 10
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 11
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 12 and settle down. 13
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 14
they will grow orchards 15 and eat the fruit they produce. 16
1 sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.
2 tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).
3 tn Heb “their.”
4 sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).
5 tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.
6 tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); NIV “stir up.”
7 tn Heb “house.”
8 sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ’ashaq).
9 tn Or “from the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name.
10 sn Lebo-Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the Stream of the Arabah to its southern border. See 2 Kgs 14:25. Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.
11 tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).
12 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
13 tn Or “and live [in them].”
14 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
15 tn Or “gardens.”
16 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”