Amos 3:13-15
13 Listen and warn ▼▼ Or “testify against.”
the family ▼▼ Heb “house.”
of Jacob! ▼▼ These words are spoken to either the unidentified heralds addressed at the beginning of v. 9, or to the Egyptians and Philistines (see v. 9b). Another possibility is that one is not to look for a specific addressee but rather appreciate the command simply as a rhetorical device to grab the attention of the listeners and readers of the prophetic message.
The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, ▼
▼ Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”
is speaking! 14 “Certainly when ▼
▼ Heb “in the day.”
I punish Israel for their ▼▼ Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.
covenant transgressions, ▼ I will destroy ▼
▼ Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).
Bethel’s ▼ altars. The horns ▼
▼ The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the Lord’s enemies.
of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. 15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. ▼
▼ Heb “the winter house along with the summer house.”
▼▼ Like kings, many in Israel’s wealthy class owned both winter and summer houses (cf. 1 Kgs 21:1, 18; Jer 36:22). For a discussion of archaeological evidence relating to these structures, see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 64–65.
The houses filled with ivory ▼
▼ Heb “houses of ivory.” These houses were not made of ivory, but they had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 139–48.
will be ruined, the great ▼
▼ Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”
houses will be swept away.” ▼▼ The translation assumes the form is from the Hebrew verb סָפָה (safah, “to sweep away”) rather than סוּף (suf, “to come to an end”), which is the choice of most versions. Either option effectively communicates the destruction of the structures.
The Lord is speaking!
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