Amos 5:6–12

Footnotes

1. 16 Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.
2. 17 Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
3. 18 Heb “house.”
4. 19 Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
5. 20 Heb “to/for Bethel.” The translation assumes that the preposition indicates advantage, “on behalf of.” Another option is to take the preposition as vocative, “O Bethel.”
6. 21 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.
7. 22 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.
8. 23 Heb “they throw righteousness.”
9. 24 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.
10. 25 Heb “darkens the day into night.”
11. 26 The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.
12. 27 Heb “comes upon.” Many prefer to repoint the verb as Hiphil and translate, “he brings destruction upon the fortified places.”
13. 28 Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14. 29 In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.
15. 30 Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. , , , , , ). 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 [], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], ).
16. 31 Or “lovely”; , , “pleasant”; “choice”; “lush.”
17. 32 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.”
18. 33 Or “for.”
19. 34 Or “I know” (so most English versions).
20. 35 Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.
21. 36 Heb “Those who.”
22. 37 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).
23. 38 Legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.