Discovery BoxAmos 5:7-12 
Context5:7 The Israelites 1 turn justice into bitterness; 2
they throw what is fair and right 3 to the ground. 4
5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight 5 into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
5:9 He flashes 6 destruction down upon the strong
so that destruction overwhelms 7 the fortified places.)
5:10 The Israelites 8 hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; 9
they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops 10
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine 11 vineyards you planted. 12
5:12 Certainly 13 I am aware of 14 your many rebellious acts 15
and your numerous sins.
You 16 torment the innocent, you take bribes,
1 tn Heb “Those who”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In light of vv. 11-13, it is also possible that the words are directed at a more limited group within the nation – those with social and economic power.
2 tn There is an interesting wordplay here with the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn, turn”). Israel “turns” justice into wormwood (cf. 6:12), while the Lord “turns” darkness into morning (v. 8; cf. 4:11; 8:10). Israel’s turning is for evil, whereas the Lord’s is to demonstrate his absolute power and sovereignty.
3 tn Heb “they throw righteousness.”
4 sn In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites, but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, but powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8-9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.
5 tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”
6 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.
7 tn Heb “comes upon.” Many prefer to repoint the verb as Hiphil and translate, “he brings destruction upon the fortified places.”
8 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
10 tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The traditional view derives the verb from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”; cf. Isa. 14:25), but more likely it is cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to exact an agricultural tax” (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).
11 tn Or “lovely”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “pleasant”; NAB “choice”; NIV “lush.”
12 tn Heb “Houses of chiseled stone you built, but you will not live in them. Fine vineyards you planted, but you will not drink their wine.”
13 tn Or “for.”
14 tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).
15 tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.
16 tn Heb “Those who.”
17 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).
18 sn Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
