Amos 3:8-10

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Amos 3:8 sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.
2. Amos 3:8 sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.
3. Amos 3:9 tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).
4. Amos 3:9 sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.
5. Amos 3:9 tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.
6. Amos 3:9 tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); cf. NIV “among her people.”
7. Amos 3:9 tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).
8. Amos 3:9 tn Heb “within her.”
9. Amos 3:10 tn Heb “those who.”
10. Amos 3:10 tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.