O you/You are doomed. The meaning of the Hebrew seems to be that of an exclamation, like “Woe to those who” (New American Bible). Though such an expression sounds old-fashioned in English (and so has been avoided in Good News Translation), it would be perfectly natural in many languages.

Who turn justice to wormwood/that twist justice. Wormwood is a plant which may grow to the size of a bush, and the juice of its leaves has a bitter taste. So “bitter” is the basis for the comparison: “you have changed justice into a very bitter herb” or “you who make justice a bitter thing” (Moffatt), “you who turn justice to gall” (Smith-Goodspeed). In many languages the comparison cannot be made at all; some possibilities: you that twist justice or “you that distort what is right.”

And cast down righteousness to the earth/and cheat people out of their rights. The Hebrew words for “justice” and righteousness are very similar in meaning, and commentaries usually try hard to define a difference, but in most cases it would not be possible to make a distinction in other languages. Sometimes the translator can use terms with the same general meaning, such as “you that treat as evil what is good, and despise what is right.” Other times the only solution is to combine the two expressions: “you that distort what is right and trample on it with your feet.” Though Good News Translation translation is possible for English, it can hardly be used as a translational model because of the English idiom it uses.

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .