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1Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:[#tn Heb “Listen to this word which I am about to take up against you, a funeral song.”; #tn Heb “house.”]
2“The virgin Israel has fallen down and will not get up again.[#tn Or “young lady.” The term “Israel” is an appositional genitive.]
She is abandoned on her own land
with no one to help her get up.”
3The sovereign Lord says this:
“The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers will have only a hundred left;
the town that marches out with a hundred soldiers will have only ten left for the family of Israel.”
4The Lord says this to the family of Israel:[#tn Heb “house.”]
“Seek me so you can live!
5Do not seek Bethel![#sn Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew).map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.]
Do not visit Gilgal!
Do not journey down to Beer Sheba!
For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile;
and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.”
6Seek the Lord so you can live!
Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph’s family;
the fire will consume
and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.
7The Israelites turn justice into bitterness;[#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.; #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.]
they throw what is fair and right to the ground.
8(But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
9He flashes destruction down upon the strong[#tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb בָּלַג (balag, translated here “flashes”) is uncertain.]
so that destruction overwhelms the fortified places.)
10The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate;[#tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.; #sn In ancient Israelite culture, legal disputes were resolved in the city gate, where the town elders met.]
they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
11Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops[#tn Traditionally, “because you trample on the poor” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). 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 [SBLDS], 49; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 172-73).]
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.
12Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts[#tn Or “for.”; #tn Or “I know” (so most English versions).; #tn Or “transgressions,” “sins.” See the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3 and on the phrase “covenant violations” in 2:4.]
and your numerous sins.
You torment the innocent, you take bribes,
and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.
13For this reason whoever is smart keeps quiet in such a time,[#tn Or “the wise”; or “the prudent.” Another option is to translate “the successful, prosperous” and understand this as a reference to the rich oppressors. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 169-70. In this case the following verb will also have a different nuance, that is, the wealthy remain silent before the abuses they perpetuate. See the note on the verb translated “keeps quiet” later in this verse.; #tn Or “moans, laments,” from a homonymic verbal root. If the rich oppressors are in view, then the verb (whether translated “will be silenced” or “will lament”) describes the result of God’s judgment upon them. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.]
for it is an evil time.
14Seek good and not evil so you can live!
Then the Lord , the God who commands armies, just might be with you,
as you claim he is.
15Hate what is wrong, love what is right!
Promote justice at the city gate!
Maybe the Lord , the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.
16Because of Israel’s sins this is what the Lord , the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says:[#tn Heb “Therefore.” This logical connector relates back to the accusation of vv. 10-13, not to the parenthetical call to repentance in vv. 14-15. To indicate this clearly, the phrase “Because of Israel’s sins” is used in the translation.; #tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).]
“In all the squares there will be wailing,
in all the streets they will mourn the dead.
They will tell the field workers to lament
and the professional mourners to wail.
17In all the vineyards there will be wailing,
for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord .
18Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord![#tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.]
Why do you want the Lord ’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
19Disaster will be inescapable,[#tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.]
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped into a house,
leaned his hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a poisonous snake.
20Don’t you realize the Lord ’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light –[#tn Heb “Will not the day of the Lord be.”]
gloomy blackness, not bright light?
21“I absolutely despise your festivals![#tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”]
I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!
22Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied;[#tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”]
I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.
23Take away from me your noisy songs;[#tn In this verse the second person suffixes are singular and not plural like they are in vv. 21-22 and vv. 25-27. Some have suggested that perhaps a specific individual or group within the nation is in view.]
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.
24Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.
25You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel.[#tn Heb “Did you bring me…?” This rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The point seems to be this: Since sacrifices did not characterize God’s relationship with Israel during the nation’s formative years, the people should not consider them to be so fundamental. The Lord places a higher priority on justice than he does on empty ritual.sn Like Jer 7:22-23, this passage seems to contradict the Pentateuchal accounts that indicate Israel did offer sacrifices during the wilderness period. It is likely that both Amos and Jeremiah overstate the case to emphasize the relative insignificance of sacrifices in comparison to weightier matters of the covenant. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 428.; #tn Heb “house.”]
26You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king,[#tn This word appears in an awkward position in the Hebrew, following “Kiyyun.” It is placed here for better sense.; #tn The Hebrew term סִכּוּת (sikkut) apparently refers to Sakkuth, a Mesopotamian star god identified with Ninurta in an Ugaritic god list. The name is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some English versions, following the LXX, translate as “tent” or “shrine” (NEB, NIV), pointing the term as סֻכַּת (sukkat; cf. 9:11).; #tc LXX, Vulgate, and Acts 7:43 read “Moloch” (cf. KJV). The Hebrew consonants are the same for both “king” and “Moloch” (מֹלֶךְ; molekh).]
and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,
27and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord .
He is called the God who commands armies!