Amos: Chapter 9

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¹I saw the LORD standing beside ^a Or in a thing of nothingness the altar, and he said:

Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; ^b Or horns and those who are left I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away, not one of them shall escape.

Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. ³ Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search out and take them; and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the sea‐serpent, and it shall bite them. ⁴ And though they go into captivity in front of their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes on them for harm and not for good.

⁵

The Lord, GOD of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt; ⁶ who builds his upper chambers in the heavens, and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the LORD is his name.

⁷

Are you not like the Ethiopians ^a Or in a thing of nothingness to me, O people of Israel? says the LORD. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? ⁸ The eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth —except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the LORD.

⁹

For lo, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the ground. ¹⁰ All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, “Evil shall not overtake or meet us.”

¹¹

On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its ^a Or for a judgment by fire breaches, and raise up its ^b Or was ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; ¹² in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, says the LORD who does this.

¹³

The time is surely coming, says the LORD, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. ¹⁴ I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. ¹⁵ I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God.

Notes:

g Or in a thing of nothingness

a Or horns

b Or for a judgment by fire

a Or was

Text

Commentary

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Commentary spanning earlier chapters

7.1–9.15 : The visions of Amos.

The final section of the book consists of accounts and interpretations of five visions ( 7.1–3; 7.4–6; 7.7–9; 8.1–3; 9.1–6 ), a biographical account about the prophet ( 7.10–17 ), and prophetic oracles ( 8.4–14; 9.5–15 ).

8.1–9.15 : Further visions and oracles.

The final two chapters of Amos have a similar outline: Both begin with visions ( 8.1–3; 9.1–6 ), followed by oracles with many literary parallels (compare 8.8 with 9.5; 8.9 with 9.11; 8.11 with 9.13 ).

9.1–6 : Fifth vision.

For other appearances of the LORD at shrines, see 1 Sam 3.1–18; Isa 6.1–13 .

1 :

Probably the altar at Bethel ( 3.14; 7.10 ) is intended. Thresholds shake, see Isa 6.4 .

2 :

Sheol, the place of the dead (Job 10.19–22; Isa 14.11,15 ), which, Amos asserts, is within God's purview (Ps 139.7–12 ), though many feared it was not (e.g., Ps 6.6; 88.3–5 ).

3 :

Mount Carmel, which juts into the Mediterranean at the northwestern border of Israel, reaches a summit of ca. 550 m (1,800 ft) above sea level and also boasts caves and forests for those who wish to hide. Sea‐serpent, sea monsters, personifications of chaos, are at times cast as opponents of God (Ps 72.13 ); at other times, as here, as God's servants (Ps 104.25–26; Job 41 ).

5–6 :

The third hymn‐like passage ( 4.13; 5.8–9 ).

5 :

see 8.8 .

6 :

Upper chambers, Ps 104.3 . The vault is another name for the celestial barrier thought to separate the earth from the cosmic waters (Gen 1.6–8; Prov 8.27 ).

9.7–10 : Israel has no claim to special privilege.

Amos refutes the idea that Israel's relationship with God implies its superiority. This oracle suggests, positively, that God has enacted other exoduses at other times and places and, negatively, that Israel stands in judgment alongside the nations; see 3.2 .

7 :

Like the Ethiopians, even distant Nubia is within God's purview. Philistines from Caphtor (probably Crete) (Jer 47.4 ). Kir, see 1.5n.

9.11–15 : An oracle of restoration.

Prophetic collections often end on a similar, hopeful note; many, as above, refer to that day (Hos 14.1–7; Joel 3.18–21; Mic 7.11–20; Zeph 3.14–20; Hag 2.20; Zech 14.6,20; Mal 14.1–5 ).

11 :

Booth of David, elsewhere in Amos, the fate of the Davidic dynasty, depicted here as in ruins, had not been a concern. This verse, at least, sounds like it stems from a later time, after the dynasty had fallen. The phrase “booth of David” suggests a more fragile structure than the more frequent “house of David” (cf. 2 Sam 7.11; Isa 1.8 ).

12 :

Edom was a traditional rival of Judah, not Israel, so this is further evidence that part or all of this final oracle was added after the fall of Samaria in 722, at a time when the book was reinterpreted for Judahites.

13 :

See Joel 3.18–21 . Shall overtake, see Lev 26.5 .