33 Several English versions substitute the first person pronoun (“I”) here for stylistic reasons (e.g., , , , , ).
34 Heb “like God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The divine name may be used in an idiomatic superlative sense here, in which case one might translate, “like the great [or “disastrous”] overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is described in Gen 19:1–29.
35 Heb “like that which is burning.”
36 The Lord appears to announce a culminating judgment resulting from Israel’s obstinate refusal to repent. The following verse describes the Lord in his role as sovereign judge, but it does not outline the judgment per se. For this reason F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [], ) take the prefixed verbal forms as preterites referring to the series of judgments detailed in vv. 6–11. It is more likely that a coming judgment is in view, but that its details are omitted for rhetorical effect, creating a degree of suspense (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], ) that will find its solution in chapter 5. This line is an ironic conclusion to the section begun at 4:4. Israel thought they were meeting the Lord at the sanctuaries, yet they actually had misunderstood how he had been trying to bring them back to himself. Now Israel would truly meet the Lord—not at the sanctuaries, but face-to-face in judgment.
37 Heb “For look, the one who.” This verse is considered to be the first hymnic passage in the book. The others appear at 5:8–9 and 9:5–6. Scholars debate whether these verses were originally part of a single hymn or three distinct pieces deliberately placed in each context for particular effect.
38 Or “declares” (, ).
39 Or “his thoughts.” The translation assumes that the pronominal suffix refers to God and that divine self-revelation is in view (see 3:7). If the suffix refers to the following term אָדַם (’adam, “men”), then the expression refers to God’s ability to read men’s minds.
40 Heb “he who makes dawn, darkness.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation assumes that allusion is made to God’s approaching judgment, when the light of day will be turned to darkness (see 5:20). Other options include: (1) “He makes the dawn [and] the darkness.” A few Hebrew , as well as the , add the conjunction (“and”) between the two nouns. (2) “He turns darkness into glimmering dawn” (). See S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], ), who takes שָׁחַר (shakhar) as “blackness” rather than “dawn” and עֵיפָה (’efah) as “glimmering dawn” rather than “darkness.”
41 Traditionally, “God of hosts.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“I overthrew some of you,

as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,

and declares to man what is his thought,

who makes the morning darkness,

and treads on the heights of the earth—

the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“I overthrew some of you

as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.

“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,

and because I will do this to you, Israel,

prepare to meet your God.”

He who forms the mountains,

who creates the wind,

and who reveals his thoughts to mankind,

who turns dawn to darkness,

and treads on the heights of the earth—

the Lord God Almighty is his name.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

I overthrew some of you

as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

and you were like a burning stick

snatched from a fire,

yet you did not return to me—

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,

and since I will do that to you,

Israel, prepare to meet your God!

He is here:

the one who forms the mountains,

creates the wind,

and reveals his thoughts to man,

the one who makes the dawn out of darkness

and strides on the heights of the earth.

The Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.

NLTNew Living Translation

“I destroyed some of your cities,

as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Those of you who survived

were like charred sticks pulled from a fire.

But still you would not return to me,”

says the Lord.

“Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.

Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!”

For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains,

stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind.

He turns the light of dawn into darkness

and treads on the heights of the earth.

The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

“I overthrew some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a stick snatched from the fire, and yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh. “Therefore, thus I will do to you, O Israel. Because I will do this to you, O Israel, prepare to meet your God! Yes, here is the one who forms the mountains, and the one who creates the wind, and the one who reveals to humankind what his thoughts are, the one who turns dawn into darkness, and the one who treads on the heights of the earth; Yahweh, the God of hosts, is his name!”

KJV 1900King James Version

I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning:

Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.

Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel:

And because I will do this unto thee,

Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind,

And declareth unto man what is his thought,

That maketh the morning darkness,

And treadeth upon the high places of the earth,

The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.

Public Domain

Amos 4:11–13

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Footnotes