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Amos 6
Amos 6:1
who are at ease
"who feel safe." The people are comfortable and not concerned that God will judge them.
the notable men of the most important of the nations
"the most important men of this great nation." Yahweh may be using irony to describe how these men think of themselves. Alternate translation: "the men who think they are the most important people in the most important nation" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-irony)
the house of Israel comes
The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house. In this case it refers to Israel's descendants. Alternate translation: "the Israelites come" or "the Israelite people group comes" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)
comes for help
Here "comes" can be stated as "goes." Alternate translation: "goes for help" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-go)
Amos 6:2
Kalneh
This is the name of a city. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names)
Are they better than your two kingdoms?
The notable men use this question to emphasize that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah are better than those other kingdoms. Alternate translation: "Your two kingdoms are better than they are." (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)
Is their border larger than your border?
The notable men use this question to emphasize that their kingdoms are larger than those other kingdoms. Alternate translation: "Their border is smaller than yours." or "Those countries are smaller than Judah and Samaria." (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)
Amos 6:3
to those who put off the day of disaster
Refusing to believe that Yahweh will cause disaster is spoken of as if the "day of disaster" were an object the people could put far from themselves. Alternate translation: "to those who refuse to believe that I will cause them to experience disaster" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)
and make the throne of violence come near
Here "throne" is a metonym that represents reign or rule. The people doing evil things, which causes Yahweh to bring disaster on them, is spoken of as if they were causing "violence" to rule them. Alternate translation: "but who are actually causing me to send violent people to destroy you" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)
Amos 6:4
lie down ... lounge
Israelites at that time usually ate while sitting on a floor cloth or a simple seat.
beds of ivory
"beds decorated with ivory" or "costly beds"
ivory
a white substance made from the teeth and horns of large animals (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-unknown)
lounge
lie around like lazy people
couches
soft seats large enough to lie down on
Amos 6:5
they improvise on instruments
Possible meanings: 1) they invent new songs and ways of playing the instruments or 2) they invent new instruments.
Amos 6:6
drink wine from bowls
This implies that they drink a lot of wine because they drink it from a large bowl rather than a regular wine cup. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit)
they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph
Here "Joseph" represents his descendants. Alternate translation: "they do not grieve about the descendants of Joseph whom enemies will soon destroy" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)
Amos 6:7
they will now go into exile with the first exiles
"they will be among the first ones to go into exile" or "I will send them into exile first"
the feasts of those who lounge about will pass away
"there will be no more feasts for people to lie around at ease"
Amos 6:8
this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Amos 3:13. Alternate translation: "this is what the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts, has declared" or "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts, have declared" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-123person)
I detest the pride of Jacob
Here "Jacob" represents his descendants. Alternate translation: "I hate the descendants of Jacob because they have become arrogant" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)
I hate his fortresses
It is implied that Yahweh hates the fortresses because the people believed the fortresses would keep them safe. Alternate translation: "I hate the people of Israel because they trust in their fortresses, not in me, to protect them" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit)
Amos 6:9
General Information:
In 6:9-10 Amos gives an example of the kinds of things that will happen when Yahweh hands the people of Israel over to their enemies.
if ten men remain in one house, they will all die
This seems to imply that something terrible is happening, and these ten men go into the house to hide. Alternate translation: "if ten men are hiding inside of a house, they will all still die" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit)
Amos 6:10
General Information:
This verse is unclear in the Hebrew and is translated in many different ways.
his relative or the one who burns him
Possible meanings of the "relative" and the "one who burns him" are 1) they are the same person or 2) they are different people.
his relative ... burns him
Possible meanings are 1) "his" and "him" refer to the person who has died, or 2) only "burns him" refers to the person who has died, and "his relative" could be translated as "a relative."
the one who burns
This phrase translates a word that refers to a person whose duty is to burn the bodies of family members who have died and for some reason cannot be buried.
in the inner room
You may need to make specific that the house had one or more inner or back rooms in which people could hide from those in the outer or front room where the dead body was lying.
Then he will say, "Be quiet, for we must not mention Yahweh's name."
Possible meanings are 1) the speaker is the one who asked the question, or 2) the speaker is the one hiding in the inner room.
we must not mention Yahweh's name
The speaker was probably afraid that if the hearer mentioned Yahweh's name, both of them would also die.
Amos 6:11
look
"listen" or "pay attention"
the big house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house to bits
These two phrases share similar meanings. The contrast between "the big house" and "the little house" means that this refers to all houses. Alternate translation: "all the houses will be smashed into small pieces" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-merism)
the big house will be smashed to pieces
This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "the enemy will smash the big house to pieces" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-activepassive)
to pieces ... to bits
You can use the same word for both of these phrases.
the little house to bits
This can be stated with the understood information included and also in active form. Alternate translation: "the little house will be smashed to bits" and "enemies will smash the little house to bits" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-ellipsis and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-activepassive)
Amos 6:12
General Information:
Amos uses two rhetorical questions to draw attention to the rebuke that follows.
Do horses run on the rocky cliffs?
It is impossible for a horse to run on rocky cliffs without getting hurt. Amos uses this rhetorical question to rebuke them for their actions. Alternate translation: "Horses do not run on rocky cliffs." (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)
Does one plow there with oxen?
One does not plow on rocky ground. Amos uses this rhetorical question to rebuke them for their actions. Alternate translation: "A person does not plow with oxen on rocky ground." (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)
Yet you have turned justice into poison
Distorting what is just is spoken of as if the leaders "turned justice into poison." Alternate translation: "Yet you distort what is just" or "But you make laws that hurt innocent people" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)
the fruit of righteousness into bitterness
This means basically the same thing as the first part of the sentence. Distorting what is right is spoken of as if righteousness were a sweet fruit that the people made bitter tasting. Alternate translation: "you distort what is right" or "you punish those who do what is right" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)
Amos 6:13
Lo Debar ... Karnaim
These are names of towns. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names)
Have we not taken Karnaim by our own strength?
The people use a question to emphasize that they believe they captured a city because of their own power. Alternate translation: "We captured Karnaim by our own power!" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)
Amos 6:14
look
"listen" or "pay attention"
house of Israel
The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house. In this case it refers to Israel's descendants. See how you translated this in Amos 5:1. Alternate translation: "you people of Israel" or "you Israelite people group" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)
this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Amos 3:13. Alternate translation: "this is what the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts, has declared" or "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts, have declared" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-123person)
from Lebo Hamath to the brook of the Arabah
Here "Lebo Hamath" represents the northern border of Israel, and "brook of the Arabah" represents the southern border. Alternate translation: "from the northern border of your nation to the southern border" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metonymy)
brook
a small river that flows only during the wet season