¹ tn Heb “their”; the referent (Ammon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “will go into exile.”

³ tn Or “princes” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT); TEV “officers”; CEV “leaders.”

⁴ tn The words “will be carried off” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁵ tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “root out”; NCV “bring to an end.”

⁶ tn Heb “the leader [traditionally, “judge”] from her midst.”

⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Or “princes” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT); TEV, CEV “leaders.”

⁹ sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.

¹⁰ sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.

¹¹ tn Heb “those who.”

¹² tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.

¹³ tn Or “is issuing the decree.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “behold” or “look.”

¹⁵ sn The basket of summer fruit (also in the following verse) probably refers to figs from the summer crop, which ripens in August-September. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 115.

¹⁶ tn Or “swears.”

¹⁷ sn In an oath one appeals to something permanent to emphasize one’s commitment to the promise. Here the Lord sarcastically swears by the arrogance of Jacob, which he earlier had condemned (6:8), something just as enduring as the Lord’s own life (see 6:8) or unchanging character (see 4:2). Other suggestions include that the Lord is swearing by the land, his most valuable possession (cf. Isa 4:2; Ps 47:4 [47:5 HT]); that this is a divine epithet analogous to “the Glory of Israel” (1 Sam 15:29); or that an ellipsis should be understood here, in which case the meaning is the same as that of 6:8 (“The Lord has sworn [by himself] against the arrogance of Jacob”).

¹⁸ tn The words “I swear” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation because a self-imprecation is assumed in oaths of this type.

¹⁹ tn Or “I will never forget all your deeds.”