1.2 KiB
General Information:
God speaks through Amos using poetic language. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/writing-poetry and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism)
the shepherds from Tekoa, ... concerning Israel
Tekoa is the name of a town or village in Judah, but this message is primarily to the northern kingdom of Israel. It seems that Amos was one of a group of shepherds who had left Tekoa to work in Israel, and while he was there at work, God gave him these words (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-names)
saw
If your language uses a word for "see" only in poetry or mostly to indicate seeing in a vision or dream, you might want to use it here.
in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and also in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel
The words "in the days of" is an idiom and refers to the time when each king reigned. Alternate translation: "when Uzziah was king of Judah, and also when Jeroboam son of Joash was king of Israel" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-idiom)
two years before the earthquake
The assumed knowledge is that the original hearers would be aware of when a large earthquake had affected the area. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit)