¹ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

² tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

³ tn Heb “their.”

⁴ sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).

⁵ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic (pronoun + verb). It underscores the stark contrast between the judgments that the Lord had been sending with the God of blessing Israel was celebrating in its worship (4:4-5).

⁶ tn Heb “But I gave to you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of food in all your places.” The phrase “cleanness of teeth” is a vivid way of picturing the famine Israel experienced.

⁷ tn Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.

⁸ sn Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.

⁹ tn Heb “house.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ 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.”

¹² tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.

¹³ sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn Heb “house.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “comes to them.”

¹⁷ tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).

¹⁸ tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the Lord or the prophet.

¹⁹ tn Heb “all of it.”

²⁰ 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.

²¹ tn Or “churn.”

²² tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.

²³ 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.

²⁴ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

²⁵ tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

²⁶ tn Heb “all of it.”

²⁷ tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

²⁸ tn Or “sinks back down.”

²⁹ sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.