Amos 5:7-9
New English Translation
7 The Israelites[a] turn justice into bitterness;[b]
they throw what is fair and right[c] to the ground.[d]
8 But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight[e] into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
9 He flashes[f] destruction down upon the strong
so that destruction overwhelms[g] the fortified places.
Footnotes
- Amos 5:7 tn 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.
- Amos 5:7 tn 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.
- Amos 5:7 tn Heb “they throw righteousness.”
- Amos 5:7 sn In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, yet powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8-9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.
- Amos 5:8 tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”
- Amos 5:9 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.
- Amos 5:9 tn Heb “comes upon.” Many prefer to repoint the verb as Hiphil and translate, “he brings destruction upon the fortified places.”
Amos 5:7-9
New International Version
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(D)
who turns midnight into dawn(E)
and darkens day into night,(F)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(G)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(H)
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