Discovery BoxAmos 4:11 
Context4:11 “I overthrew some of you the way God 1 overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 2
You were like a burning stick 3 snatched from the flames.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
Amos 5:12
Context5:12 Certainly 4 I am aware of 5 your many rebellious acts 6
and your numerous sins.
You 7 torment the innocent, you take bribes,
1 tn Several English versions substitute the first person pronoun (“I”) here for stylistic reasons (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
2 tn Heb “like God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The divine name may be used in an idiomatic superlative sense here, in which case one might translate, “like the great [or “disastrous”] overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.”
sn The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is described in Gen 19:1-29.
3 tn Heb “like that which is burning.”
4 tn Or “for.”
5 tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).
6 tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.
7 tn Heb “Those who.”
8 tn Heb “turn aside.” They “turn aside” the needy by denying them the justice they deserve at the city gate (where legal decisions were made, and therefore where justice should be done).
9 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
