Discovery BoxAmos 2:14 
Context2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; 1
strong men will have no strength left; 2
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
Amos 3:9
Context3:9 Make this announcement in 3 the fortresses of Ashdod
and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Say this:
“Gather on the hills around Samaria! 4
Observe the many acts of violence 5 taking place within the city, 6
the oppressive deeds 7 occurring in it.” 8
Amos 6:1
Context6:1 Woe 9 to those who live in ease in Zion, 10
to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
They think of themselves as 11 the elite class of the best nation.
The family 12 of Israel looks to them for leadership. 13
Amos 6:6
Context6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 14
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 15
Yet they are not concerned over 16 the ruin 17 of Joseph.
Amos 7:9
Context7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship 18 will become desolate;
Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.
I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” 19
Amos 7:14
Context7:14 Amos replied 20 to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. 21 No, 22 I was a herdsman who also took care of 23 sycamore fig trees. 24
Amos 8:8
Context8:8 Because of this the earth 25 will quake, 26
and all who live in it will mourn.
The whole earth 27 will rise like the River Nile, 28
it will surge upward 29 and then grow calm, 30 like the Nile in Egypt. 31
1 tn Heb “and a place of refuge will perish from the swift.”
2 tn Heb “the strong will not increase his strength.”
3 tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).
4 sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.
map For location of the city see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
5 tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.
6 tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”
7 tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).
8 tn Heb “within her.”
9 tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.
10 sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.
11 tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.
12 tn Heb “house.”
13 tn Heb “comes to them.”
14 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
15 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
16 tn Or “not sickened by.”
17 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
18 tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”
19 tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”
20 tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.
21 tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.
22 tn Heb “for.”
23 tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”
sn For a discussion of the agricultural background, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 128-29.
24 sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).
25 tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).
26 tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the
27 tn Heb “all of it.”
28 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.
29 tn Or “churn.”
30 tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.
31 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.
