Amos 9:4-6

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Amos 9:4 tn Heb “Even if they go into captivity before their enemies.”
2. Amos 9:4 tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).
3. Amos 9:4 tn Heb “I will set my eye on them for disaster, not good.”
4. Amos 9:5 tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
5. Amos 9:5 tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.
6. Amos 9:5 tn Heb “all of it.”
7. Amos 9:5 tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
8. Amos 9:5 tn Or “sinks back down.”
9. Amos 9:5 sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.
10. Amos 9:6 tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (ʿaliyyato, “his upper rooms”).
11. Amos 9:6 tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.
12. Amos 9:6 sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.