(4) So I will send fire upon … fortresses. See Amos 1.4.

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 .

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD. This new mention of the speaker helps in Hebrew because there is a change from talking about the people of Israel (verse 10) to talking to them (verse 11). Such a change, common in Hebrew, is frequently confusing and awkward in other languages. The Good News Translation has therefore restructured verse 11 so as to have the Lord still talking about the people of Israel, and so the speaker does not need to be mentioned again.

An adversary shall surround the land/And so an enemy will surround their land. This is the best way of understanding the Hebrew, although there are problems.

And bring down your defenses (Hebrew: strength) from you/destroy their defenses. One possible translation is: “and strip you of your strength” (New American Bible), or if the translation has God speaking about the people of Israel: “and strip them of their strength” or “make them weak.” On the other hand, the Hebrew word for “strength” may mean “fortifications,” “defenses.” So Good News Translation has destroy their defenses. Since many languages do not have a general word for defenses or for certain types of fortifications, the nearest equivalent expression may be “destroy the places where they hide/protect themselves.”

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 .

Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate/Hate what is evil, love what is right, and see that justice prevails in the courts. Establish (“set up”) justice is the exact opposite of cast down righteousness in verse 7. Many languages do not use such a word as “to set up” or establish for justice, and Good News Translation translates directly as see that justice prevails in the courts (compare New American Bible: “and let justice prevail at the gate”). One possibility is to say something like “do what is right in your palaver house (or: in the decisions of the elders).”

Will be gracious/will be merciful. For this context, the word chosen in translation should indicate kindness or mercy toward someone who deserves severe punishment.

To the remnant of Joseph/the people of this nation who are still left alive. For Joseph, meaning “the (people) of Israel,” see 5.6. In a message addressed to Israelites it may be better in many languages to continue speaking directly to them: (the people of) this nation (or: “your nation”). However, some translators may prefer a translation which keeps the term Joseph (if it is clear), because it balances verse 6: “what is left of the descendants of Joseph” (so The Translator’s Old Testament: “those of Joseph’s descendants who survive”). For the meaning and translation of remnant, see also 1.8.

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 .

The LORD repented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD/The LORD changed his mind again and said, “This will not take place either”. See Amos 7.3. In Hebrew the two verses are the same except for the addition of this also.

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 .

Says the LORD/The LORD says. The LORD is speaking again after a section in which he has not been speaking. It may be useful to introduce the speaker immediately, as in Good News Translation.

O people of Israel/People of Israel. The position of this expression depends on what is natural in the receptor language.

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me … Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?/I think as much of the people of Sudan as I do of you. I brought the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir, just as I brought you from Egypt. The emotional force here is very strong. God is telling the people of Israel that they are not so special after all. He has done as much for other people as he has done for them. Israel is put on the same level as the most distant and despised people (the Ethiopians) and is grouped with its worst enemies (Philistines and Syrians). It is important to try to get this emotional force in the translation.

The Hebrew questions both require “Yes” as an answer. The meaning is given well in Good News Translation. On translating such rhetorical questions, see 3.3. Good News Translation has translated entirely as statements and changed the order to make the comparison easier. In some cases it would be good to use combinations like “I brought the Philistine people from Crete and the Syrians from Kir, didn’t I?” or to translate the first question as a statement: “To me you Israelites are no better than the Ethiopians.” Then the second question may be translated as a question (so The Translator’s Old Testament). Another possibility is “Are you anything more to me than the Ethiopians, you Israelites? Certainly I brought Israel up from Egypt! and I also brought the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir!” The translator should select what gives the most forceful translation. Furthermore, this verse should be translated in such a way that the relationship between it and the following verse is clear (see below).

Did I not bring up Israel/I brought you. The Hebrew represents God as though he were speaking about the people rather than to them. See the discussion of this in 4.11,12.

Ethiopians/people of Sudan. New English Bible takes over the Hebrew word as “Cushites,” but all other modern English translations (except Good News Translation) and some ancient translations use the more meaningful Ethiopians, which is approximately correct. Since the Nubian tribes of Northern Sudan are also included, it is possible (but not quite as correct) to translate people of Sudan.

Caphtor/Crete. Most translations use the Hebrew name, but the meaning is probably Crete (see also Moffatt), and that is what the translator should use.

Syrians from Kir. See 1.5.

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 .

(1-2) The LORD says … punish them. See 1.3. Since the message is addressed d tod* Israel, and is not simply d aboutd* Israel (as the previous messages were about the other peoples), the use of the people of Israel and them may cause misunderstanding in some languages. It may sometimes be necessary to translate so that God speaks directly here: “You people of Israel … I will punish you.” To do so brings up to verse 6 the change which the Hebrew makes in verse 10.

However, if some way can be found to continue the style of the previous messages, as though God were still talking about someone else, and then switch dramatically to the more direct form later, as the Hebrew does, this may be very effective in many languages. Good News Translation makes the switch in verse 9, one verse before the Hebrew. In some languages it might be best to bring it up even into the second part of verse 6. This would strongly emphasize that although the message begins the same way as the earlier ones, the implications for the hearers are not the same at all.

Wherever the change is made, special attention should be given to the way in which it is made, with special emphasis in its wording. For example: “you, my people, sell honest men into slavery…” or “and you, the people of Israel, have sinned again and again.”

(3) The third part of the message to Israel, containing the specific illustrations of Israel’s crimes, starts with the familiar because they, with the crimes introduced in the usual way in the Hebrew grammar (2.6b), but there the similarity ends. Interwoven are social crimes and the fact that these are also crimes against God. The way in which these are organized may be seen in the Appendix, Section 3.1.

That the crimes against people are also crimes against God must be clear in the translation.
Because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes (Hebrew: sandals) /They sell into slavery honest men who cannot pay their debts, poor men who cannot repay even the price of a pair of sandals. The Hebrew does not say who (in Israel) did the selling, which causes difficulty for translating into many languages. How this is decided depends on how the rest of the passage is understood. Did the same people sell the righteous as sold the needy, or did judges sell the righteous (by taking bribes) and creditors sell the “needy” into slavery to recover their debts?

It does not seem likely that different people are doing the selling in the two cases, or even that one general group such as the corrupt upper classes are here divided into judges and creditors. It certainly is also unlikely that the same verb to sell should have been used once as picture language (for bribery) and once with its regular meaning. So there are two possible solutions: the ones who did the selling are either judges or creditors in both cases.

The easiest way of understanding the passage seems to be with the meaning of creditors. With it goes natural use of sell in both cases. Furthermore, the same people carry on into verse 7, and the rich can be understood as acting in both verses. Finally, it is not necessary to take righteous in a legal sense (compare Moffatt: “honest folk”).

In Hebrew the emphasis is first on the righteous, and then on a pair of sandals. So the point is first that for rich creditors money has more value than the personal qualifications of people, and second that even people who need help are victims for insignificant reasons. Translations of this passage should express a lot more of these meanings than they normally do. To sell has to be qualified as “to sell into slavery” or “to sell as slaves,” and the meaning of “for money” and “for a pair of sandals” has to be stated clearly. Good News Translation has done many of these things well, but who cannot repay even the price of a pair of sandals does not completely show that selling into slavery is the result of not repaying. Another way might be “because they can’t pay back the small sum they owe for a pair of sandals.”

A pair of sandals will have to be translated as “two sandals for two feet,” or some other idiomatic way, in some languages.

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 .

I also withheld the rain from you/I kept it from raining. God’s control over the weather is expressed differently in different languages. One may have to say “I caused (made/gave) that it did not rain” or “I did not allow rain to fall (arrive).” The same type of problem comes later in the verse, where it can be translated “I would cause the rain to fall on one city, but would not allow it to fall on another city.”

When there were yet three months to the harvest/when your crops needed it most. This means that the “latter rain” of the spring (March-April), which is so necessary for the grain harvest three months later (May–June), did not fall. However, the timing is related to the climate in the Middle East and will not necessarily be understood in other areas. For that reason Good News Translation qualities the information by saying when your crops needed it most. In such a translation something about the Middle Eastern culture is left out, but it could easily be included as well: “three months before the harvest, when your crops needed it most.”

There may be no specific word for harvest in a language, but it can be described as “the time when grain was cut.”

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 .

You shall take up (Hebrew: did you take up [?]) Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god your images (Hebrew: your images, the star of your god), which you made for yourselves/But now, because you have worshiped images of Sakkuth, your king god, and of Kaiwan, your star god, you will live to carry these images. Considerable restructuring of this verse will be necessary in any translation. For the relationships of this verse with the immediate context and for other major problems in the translation, especially when this verse is connected with the preceding one, see 5. 25-27. When this verse is taken together with the following one, Good News Translation can be used as a model.

God will have to be rendered as “idol.” In this context the gods must be portable. Most languages do not make a distinction between images and gods. In addition, in many cases it is extremely difficult to express such a notion as king god or star god. One possible translation: “your idols, which you call Sakkuth and Kaiwan.”

Take up/carry. Some languages have at least twenty different terms depending on the method of carrying: in the hand, on the shoulders, on the head, with the help of something, alone or sharing the load, etc. They may even have different vocabulary for carrying sacred items. In this case the Hebrew word probably implies that the idol was on the end of some kind of upright support.

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 .