(1-2) The LORD says … punish them. See Amos 1.3.

(3) Because he pursued his brother with the sword/They hunted down their brothers, the Israelites. Hunted down may be a good solution for pursued … with the sword in other languages as well. Showing how the hunting was done may contribute to the emotional tone in some languages: “because, sword in hand, they hunted their kinsmen down” (New English Bible; compare Moffatt). If “hunting” vocabulary cannot be used for action toward people, the translation might be “they put their brothers to flight (or: they chased their brothers) by means of the sword.”

For brothers the translator should use a very broad term including all fellow nationals or tribesmen. It may be necessary to state who their brothers are: the Israelites. The Edomites were descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother (Gen 36.1-19).

And cast off all pity (Hebrew: destroyed his mercy)/and showed them no mercy. The Hebrew idiom cannot be translated directly into most languages. Sometimes a verb with a similar meaning can be used to create a similar picture: for example, “to stifle” in English (compare Smith-Goodspeed, Moffatt, New English Bible), “étouffer” in French, etc. But in a majority of languages even this would be impossible so a descriptive phrase has to be used as in Good News Translation, or, even more directly: “and refused to be merciful.” In this particular context the specific meaning of the Hebrew noun for mercy is “brotherly feelings,” “brotherly love.” As many cultures have a specific term in this area, it may be possible to translate “they did not (want to) love them as brothers.”

And his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever/Their anger had no limits and they never let it die. The Hebrew text here is not clear, but may be understood as follows: “he (Edom) persisted in his anger and kept his wrath to the end” (New American Bible), or: “his anger persisted forever and his wrath to the end.” This is the basis for the Good News Translation. In some translations the parallel information may be combined into one short sentence: “their anger never stopped/died down.” TEV uses die for anger because it is clear and forceful in English. In each case the translator will have to look for an appropriate natural expression. Even a flat rendering such as: “they continued to be angry with them” may be necessary.

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 .