Woe to …/How terrible … See 6.1-7.

Lie … stretch themselves … eat/stretch out … feasting. The leaders are lying down while they are eating. The custom in Israel had always been to sit on rugs or seats to eat. The practice of reclining for meals, which is mentioned here for the first time, was no doubt foreign. The translation should not sound as though the eating precedes the lying on beds, like a nap. On the other hand, the idea of lying down to eat may shock the reader of the translation and lead to misunderstanding. It may be helpful therefore to make a short cultural note something like this: “The custom of lying down on couches when eating is mentioned here for the first time. At the time of the New Testament, it had become a more general custom. See, for example, Matt 9.10 and 26.7.”

Stretch themselves/stretch out. This refers to the way in which people lie down. They “sprawl” (so Moffatt, New English Bible, The Translator’s Old Testament). A descriptive phrase such as “you lay down your bodies as lazy people” is possible. Sometimes the use of idioms for “lazy people,” like “people with dead hands,” may help to make the translation as colorful as the Hebrew.

Beds of ivory/luxurious couches. The meaning is “beds decorated with ivory” (The Translator’s Old Testament) or “beds inlaid with ivory” (New English Bible). (See 3.12, 15). Here the important point, of course, is the expensiveness and luxury of these beds, not the particular kind of decoration. Where that would not be clear, beds of ivory should be translated as “luxurious beds” or “expensive beds.”

The Hebrew uses two different words with similar meaning for beds and most English translations use different words like “beds” and “couches.” The translator may have to combine them into one, as in the Good News Translation couches, or use the same word twice. If the same word is used twice, some quality of the bed can be added the second time, to make it seem less repetitive, something like “soft beds,” perhaps.

Lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall (Hebrew: place where they are tied up)/feasting on veal and lamb. The meaning is that of “choice lamb” and “fat calves.” (Veal means the meat of a calf.) Good News Translation prefers to show the kind of eating (feasting) and does not express the idea of the quality of the food. New English Bible does both: “feasting on lambs from the flock and fatted calves,” which includes more information than may be necessary. In most languages it is better to use an ordinary verb “to eat” and to bring out the special quality of the meat. If different words for “eat” are used according to who is eating, the choice should reflect the fact that the prominent people of the country are described here.

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 .