Discovery BoxAmos 2:14-16 
Context2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; 1
strong men will have no strength left; 2
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
2:15 Archers 3 will not hold their ground; 4
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses. 5
2:16 Bravehearted 6 warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking!
1 tn Heb “and a place of refuge will perish from the swift.”
2 tn Heb “the strong will not increase his strength.”
3 tn Heb “the one who holds the bow.”
4 tn For the idiom of “holding [or “standing”] one’s ground” in battle, there is a similar phrase in Ezek 13:5; also related is the expression “to hold one’s own against” (or “to withstand”) in Judg 2:14; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 8:7 (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 97). Other options include “will not endure” or “will not survive.”
5 tn The last two lines read literally, “The one fast in his feet will not rescue [his life], and the rider of the horse will not rescue his life.” The phrase “his life” does double duty in the parallelism and should be understood in both lines.
6 tn Or “the most stouthearted” (NAB); NRSV “those who are stout of heart.”
