Amos 9
9
Fifth Vision: The Destruction of the Sanctuary
1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar. And he said:
Strike the capitals
so that the threshold shakes!
Break them off on the heads of them all!
Those who are left I will slay with the sword.
Not one shall get away,
no survivor shall escape.#This vision may describe the destruction of the temple at Bethel and the fulfillment of the oracle in 3:14, linking God’s judgment upon Israel with the “punishment” of the altars of Bethel. This dramatic event (perhaps to be identified with the earthquake mentioned in 1:1) symbolizes the end of the Northern Kingdom as the Lord’s people, the consequence of their steadfast refusal to heed the prophetic word and return to the God of Israel. #Am 2:13–16.
2Though they dig down to Sheol,
even from there my hand shall take them;
Though they climb to the heavens,
even from there I shall bring them down.#Ps 139:7–12; Jb 20:6.
3Though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
there too I will hunt them down and take them;
Though they hide from my gaze at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent#The serpent: a name for the primeval chaos monster, vanquished by God at the time of creation but not annihilated. He was a personification of the sea, another primary archetype of chaos in the ancient Near East. to bite them.#Jb 7:12; Is 27:1.
4Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
I will fix my gaze upon them
for evil and not for good.
5The Lord God of hosts,
Who melts the earth with his touch,
so that all who dwell on it mourn,
So that it will all rise up like the Nile,
and subside like the river of Egypt;#Am 8:8.
6Who has built his upper chamber in heaven,
and established his vault over the earth;
Who summons the waters of the sea
and pours them upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.#Am 5:8.
7Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
O Israelites?—oracle of the Lord—
Did I not bring the Israelites from the land of Egypt
as I brought the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Arameans#The Ethiopians…the Philistines…the Arameans: although Israel’s relationship to the Lord was special, even unique in some respects (3:2), Israel was not the only people on earth that God cared for. Striking here is the reference to divine intervention in the history of the Philistines and Arameans, not unlike the Lord’s saving intervention to bring Israel out of Egypt. Caphtor: the island of Crete. from Kir?
8See, the eyes of the Lord God are on this sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth—
But I will not destroy the house of Jacob completely—
oracle of the Lord.
9For see, I have given the command
to sift the house of Israel among all the nations,
As one sifts with a sieve,
letting no pebble fall to the ground.
10All sinners among my people shall die by the sword,
those who say, “Disaster will not reach or overtake us.”#Jer 5:12; 23:17.
VI. EPILOGUE: RESTORATION UNDER A DAVIDIC KING
11#These verses are most likely an editorial supplement to Amos, added to bring the book into harmony with the positive thrust of the prophetic books in general, especially those written after the exile, when the final edition of Amos was probably completed. The editors would have seen the destruction of Samaria in 722/721 B.C. as the fulfillment of Amos’s prophecies, but in this epilogue they express the view that destruction was not the Lord’s final word for Israel. In Acts 15:15–17, James interprets this passage in a messianic sense. The fallen hut of David: the Davidic kingdom, which included what later became the divided Northern and Southern Kingdoms. All nations claimed in my name: lit., “all nations over whom my name has been pronounced.” This idiom denotes ownership. On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,#Acts 15:16–17.
12That they may possess the remnant of Edom,
and all nations claimed in my name—
oracle of the Lord, the one who does this.
13Yes, days are coming—
oracle of the Lord—
When the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps
and the vintager, the sower of the seed;
The mountains shall drip with the juice of grapes,
and all the hills shall run with it.#Jl 4:18.
14I will restore my people Israel,
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink#Rebuild…inhabit…plant…drink: in this era of restoration, the Lord nullifies the curse of 5:11, which uses these same four verbs, and turns it into a blessing for Israel. the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.#Is 65:21–22.
15I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them—
the Lord, your God, has spoken.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Amos 9
9
Vision of the Lord Standing by the Altar
1I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said,
“Hit the top of the columns,
and shake them to the ground.
Push them and they will fall
on everyone’s head.
As for those who survive,
I will kill them with a sword.
None of them will run away.
None of them will escape.
2If they dig deep into the ground,#9:2 ground Literally, “Sheol, the place of the dead.”
I will pull them from there.
If they go up into the skies,#9:2 skies Or “heaven.”
I will bring them down from there.
3If they hide at the top of Mount Carmel,#9:3 Mount Carmel A mountain in northern Israel. This name means “God’s vineyard.” This shows that it was a very fertile hill.
I will find them there and take them from that place.
If they try to hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
I will command the snake, and it will bite them.
4If they are captured and taken away by their enemies,
I will command the sword,
and it will kill them there.
Yes, I will watch over them,
but I will watch for ways to give them troubles,
not for ways to do good things.”
Punishment Will Destroy the People
5The Lord GOD All-Powerful will touch the land,
and the land will melt.
Then all the people who live in the land will cry for the dead.
The land will rise and fall
like the Nile River in Egypt.
6He built his upper rooms above the skies.
He put his skies#9:6 skies Literally, “dome” or “vault.” over the earth.
He calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out as rain on the land.
YAHWEH is his name.
The Lord Promises Destruction for Israel
7This is what the Lord says:
“Israel, you are like the Ethiopians to me.
I brought Israel out of the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,#9:7 Caphtor An island west of Israel, probably Crete or Cyprus.
and the Arameans from Kir.#9:7 Kir Where the Arameans came from and where the Assyrians sent them in exile. There are several places with this name.”
8The Lord GOD is watching this sinful kingdom.
The Lord says,
“I will wipe Israel off the face of the earth,
but I will never completely destroy Jacob’s family.
9I am giving the command
to scatter the people of Israel among all nations.
But it will be like someone sifting flour.
A person shakes flour through a sifter.#9:9 sifter Something like a cup with a screen on its bottom. A sifter is used for removing large lumps from the good flour.
The good flour falls through, but the bad lumps are caught.
10“Sinners among my people say,
‘Nothing bad will happen to us.’
But all of them will be killed with swords.”
God Promises to Restore the Kingdom
11“David’s tent#9:11 David’s tent This probably means the city of Jerusalem or the country of Judah. has fallen,
but at that time I will set it up again.
I will fix its holes and repair its ruined parts.
I will set it up as it was before.
12Then the people left alive in Edom,
and all the people called by my name, will look to me for help.”
This is what the Lord said,
and he will make it happen.
13The Lord says, “A time of great blessing is coming.
Workers will still be harvesting
when it is time to plow the fields again.
They will still be trampling the grapes
when it is time for a new crop.
Sweet wine will drip from the mountains
and pour from the hills.
14I will bring my people, Israel,
back from captivity.
They will rebuild the ruined cities,
and they will live in them.
They will plant vineyards
and drink the wine they produce.
They will plant gardens
and eat the crops they produce.
15I will plant my people on their land,
and never again will they be pulled up out of the land that I gave them.”
This is what the Lord your God said.
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