Discovery BoxAmos 5:3 
Context5:3 The sovereign Lord says this:
“The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers 1 will have only a hundred left;
the town 2 that marches out with a hundred soldiers 3 will have only ten left for the family of Israel.” 4
Amos 5:6
Context5:6 Seek the Lord so you can live!
Otherwise he will break out 5 like fire against Joseph’s 6 family; 7
the fire 8 will consume
and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. 9
Amos 6:1
Context6:1 Woe 10 to those who live in ease in Zion, 11
to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
They think of themselves as 12 the elite class of the best nation.
The family 13 of Israel looks to them for leadership. 14
Amos 6:14
Context6:14 “Look! I am about to bring 15 a nation against you, family 16 of Israel.”
The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress 17 you all the way from Lebo-Hamath 18 to the Stream of the Arabah.” 19
Amos 9:8-9
Context9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching 20 the sinful nation, 21
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family 22 of Jacob,” says the Lord.
9:9 “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. 23
1 tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 tn Heb “The one.” The word “town” has been used in the translation in keeping with the relative sizes of the armed contingents sent out by each. It is also possible that this line is speaking of the same city of the previous line. In other words, the contingent sent by that one city would have suffered a ninety-nine percent casualty loss.
3 tn The word “soldiers” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 tn Heb “for/to the house of Israel.” The translation assumes that this is a graphic picture of what is left over for the defense of the nation (NEB, NJB, NASB, NKJV). Others suggest that this phrase completes the introductory formula (“The sovereign
5 tn Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.
6 sn Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
7 tn Heb “house.”
8 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
9 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.”
10 tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.
11 sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.
12 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.
13 tn Heb “house.”
14 tn Heb “comes to them.”
15 tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); NIV “stir up.”
16 tn Heb “house.”
17 sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ’ashaq).
18 tn Or “from the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name.
19 sn Lebo-Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the Stream of the Arabah to its southern border. See 2 Kgs 14:25. Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.
20 tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign
21 tn Or “kingdom.”
22 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
23 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).
