Therefore/And so, Amaziah. The relationship between verses 16 and 17 must be clear, both its change of speakers and in the fact that verse 17 results from what happens in verse 16. “For that reason, (the LORD says to you) Amaziah…” “because you say that, Amaziah.”

Thus says the LORD/the LORD says to you. See 1.3.

By the sword/in war. See verse 11.

Your land shall be parceled out by line/Your land will be divided up and given to others.

This means that Amaziah’s private property becomes the property of the conquerors, who will divide it among the new families of immigrants. The (measuring) line is not important to the meaning so that it does not need to be included if it is a problem. However the information and given to others is important to the meaning, though it is not stated directly in Hebrew. To show who is doing the action, it is possible to use an impersonal subject “someone will divide…” or “the conquerors of the land will divide….”

An unclean land/a heathen country. Neither of the two translations is very helpful for other languages. In most cases one should simply say: “a foreign country” (Moffatt).

And Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land/And the people of Israel will certainly be taken away from their own land into exile. See verse 11b. For some languages this promise of punishment will be much clearer if the order of events in translation fits the order in which they will happen: “Your children will die in war, your country will be conquered, and your land will be divided up and given to those who conquer you; your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and you yourself will be taken away to die in a foreign land. Yes, the people of Israel will be taken away into exile.”

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 .