5:5 Do not seek Bethel! 1
Do not visit Gilgal!
Do not journey down 2 to Beer Sheba!
For the people of Gilgal 3 will certainly be carried into exile; 4
and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” 5
“Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel.
I will no longer overlook their sin. 6
8:2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end 7 has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins. 8
8:12 People 9 will stagger from sea to sea, 10
and from the north around to the east.
They will wander about looking for a revelation from 11 the Lord,
but they will not find any. 12
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 13
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 14 and settle down. 15
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 16
they will grow orchards 17 and eat the fruit they produce. 18
1 sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).
map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
2 tn Heb “cross over.”
sn To worship at Beer Sheba, northern worshipers had to journey down (i.e., cross the border) between Israel and Judah. Apparently, the popular religion of Israel for some included pilgrimage to holy sites in the South.
3 tn Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name.
sn That the people of Gilgal would be taken into exile is ironic, for Gilgal was Israel’s first campsite when the people entered the land under Joshua and the city became a symbol of Israel’s possession of the promised land.
5 tn Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; NIV “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
sn Again there is irony. The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew. How surprising and tragic that Bethel, the “house of God” where Jacob received the inheritance given to Abraham, would be overrun by disaster.
6 tn Heb “And I will no longer pass over him.”
7 tn There is a wordplay here. The Hebrew word קֵץ (qets, “end”) sounds like קָיִץ (qayits, “summer fruit”). The summer fruit arrived toward the end of Israel’s agricultural year; Israel’s national existence was similarly at an end.
8 tn Heb “I will no longer pass over him.”
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn That is, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east – that is, across the whole land.
11 tn Heb “looking for the word of.”
12 tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the
13 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).
14 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
15 tn Or “and live [in them].”
16 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
17 tn Or “gardens.”
18 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”