Discovery BoxAmos 8:8 
Context8:8 Because of this the earth 1 will quake, 2
and all who live in it will mourn.
The whole earth 3 will rise like the River Nile, 4
it will surge upward 5 and then grow calm, 6 like the Nile in Egypt. 7
Amos 9:14
Context9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 8
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 9 and settle down. 10
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 11
they will grow orchards 12 and eat the fruit they produce. 13
1 tn Or “land” (also later in this verse).
2 tn It is not clear whether the speaker in this verse is the
3 tn Heb “all of it.”
4 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.
5 tn Or “churn.”
6 tn Or “sink back down.” The translation assumes the verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’), following the Qere.
7 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.
8 tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).
9 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
10 tn Or “and live [in them].”
11 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
12 tn Or “gardens.”
13 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”
