Amos 9:5–6

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this.15

He touches the earth and it dissolves;16

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth17 rises like the River Nile,18

and then grows calm19 like the Nile in Egypt.20

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace21 in heaven

and sets its foundation supports22 on the earth.23

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

15	tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
16	tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.
17	tn Heb “all of it.”
18	tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
19	tn Or “sinks back down.”
20	sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.
21	tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19–20). The prefixed ם (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).
22	tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845–46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.
23	sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.