8:8 Because of this the earth 1 will quake, 2
and all who live in it will mourn.
The whole earth 3 will rise like the River Nile, 4
it will surge upward 5 and then grow calm, 6 like the Nile in Egypt. 7
9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. 8
He touches the earth and it dissolves; 9
all who live on it mourn.
The whole earth 10 rises like the River Nile, 11
and then grows calm 12 like the Nile in Egypt. 13
9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 14 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 15 on the earth. 16
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
1 tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).
2 tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the
3 tn Heb “all of it.”
4 tc The MT reads “like the light” (כָאֹר, kha’or; note this term also appears in v. 9), which is commonly understood to be an error for “like the Nile” (כִּיאוֹר, ki’or). See the parallel line and Amos 9:5. The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity. If this emendation is correct, in the Hebrew of Amos “Nile” is actually spelled three slightly different ways.
sn The movement of the quaking earth is here compared to the annual flooding and receding of the River Nile.
5 tn Or “churn.”
6 tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.
7 tn The entire verse is phrased in a series of rhetorical questions which anticipate the answer, “Of course!” (For example, the first line reads, “Because of this will the earth not quake?”). The rhetorical questions entrap the listener in the logic of the judgment of God (cf. 3:3-6; 9:7). The rhetorical questions have been converted to affirmative statements in the translation for clarity.
8 tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
9 tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.
10 tn Heb “all of it.”
11 tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Or “sinks back down.”
13 sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.
14 tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).
15 tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.
16 sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.