Discovery BoxAmos 1:13-14 
Context1:13 This is what the Lord says:
“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes 1 –
make that four! 2 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 3
They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women 4
so they could expand their territory.
1:14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s 5 city wall; 6
fire 7 will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle; 8
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. 9
Amos 2:2
Context2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, 10
and it will consume Kerioth’s 11 fortresses.
Moab will perish 12 in the heat of battle 13
amid war cries and the blaring 14 of the ram’s horn. 15
Amos 5:6
Context5:6 Seek the Lord so you can live!
Otherwise he will break out 16 like fire against Joseph’s 17 family; 18
the fire 19 will consume
and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. 20
1 tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.
2 tn Heb “Because of three violations of the Ammonites, even because of four.”
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 sn The Ammonites ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women in conjunction with a military invasion designed to expand their territory. Such atrocities, although repugnant, were not uncommon in ancient Near Eastern warfare.
5 sn Rabbah was the Ammonite capital.
6 sn The city wall symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
7 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “with a war cry in the day of battle.”
9 tn Heb “with wind in the day of the windstorm.”
sn A windstorm is a metaphor for judgment and destruction in the OT (see Isa 29:6; Jer 23:19) and ancient Near Eastern literature.
10 sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the
11 sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.
12 tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”
13 tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.
14 tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
15 sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.
16 tn Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.
17 sn Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
18 tn Heb “house.”
19 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
20 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.”
