Discovery BoxAmos 2:9 
Context2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. 1
They were as tall as cedars 2
and as strong as oaks,
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches 3
and their roots in the ground. 4
Amos 3:14
Context3:14 “Certainly when 5 I punish Israel for their 6 covenant transgressions, 7
I will destroy 8 Bethel’s 9 altars.
The horns 10 of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
Amos 9:9
Context9:9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground. 11
1 tn Heb “I destroyed the Amorites from before them.” The translation takes מִפְּנֵי (mippÿney) in the sense of “for the sake of.” See BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֻה II.6.a and H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos (Hermeneia), 134. Another option is to take the phrase in a spatial sense, “I destroyed the Amorites, [clearing them out] from before them [i.e., Israel]” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
2 tn Heb “whose height was like the height of cedars.”
3 tn Heb “his fruit from above.”
4 tn Heb “and his roots from below.”
5 tn Heb “in the day.”
6 tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.
7 tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.
8 tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).
9 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
10 sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the
11 tn Heb “like being shaken with a sieve, and a pebble does not fall to the ground.” The meaning of the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror), translated “pebble,” is unclear here. In 2 Sam 17:13 it appears to refer to a stone. If it means “pebble,” then the sieve described in v. 6 allows the grain to fall into a basket while retaining the debris and pebbles. However, if one interprets צְרוֹר as a “kernel of grain” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT) then the sieve is constructed to retain the grain and allow the refuse and pebbles to fall to the ground. In either case, the simile supports the last statement in v. 8 by making it clear that God will distinguish between the righteous (the grain) and the wicked (the pebbles) when he judges, and will thereby preserve a remnant in Israel. Only the sinners will be destroyed (v. 10).
