Discovery BoxAmos 3:11 
Context3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. 1
He will take away your power; 2
your fortresses will be looted.”
Amos 8:9
Context8:9 In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon,
and make the earth dark in the middle of the day. 3
Amos 9:15
Context9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the 4 land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
1 tc The MT reads “an enemy and around the land.” It is also possible to take the MT as an exclamation (“an enemy, and all about the land!”; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 118; NJPS; cf. NLT).Most scholars and versions emend the text to יְסוֹבֵב (yÿsovev, Polel imperfect), “will encircle.”
2 tn Heb “He will bring down your power from you.” Some emend the text to read “Your power will be brought down from you.” The shift, however, from an active to a passive sense also appears at 3:14 (“I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off.”) The pronouns (“your…you”) are feminine singular, indicating that the personified city of Samaria is addressed here. Samaria’s “power” here is her defenses and/or wealth.
3 tn Heb “in a day of light.”
4 tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.
