Therefore they shall now be the first (Hebrew: at the head) of those to go into exile/So you will be the first to go into exile. In many languages the Hebrew picture would be good: “you will be at the head/front of those who are taken away as captives.”

Exile. See 1.15.

Therefore … now/So. The Hebrew word normally translated “now” does not seem to refer to time here. The meaning is that of so.

First. This word is similar to the Hebrew word as in verse 1: first of the nations. Now they have become “first of the exiles.” If there is any way of preserving this parallel in the translation without awkwardness or lack of clarity, it would be important to do so. However, since the meaning is different in the two cases (great in verse 1, and “at the head of the line” here), it will often not be possible.

The revelry of those who stretch themselves shall pass away/Your feasts and banquets will come to an end. The Hebrew word translated by Revised Standard Version (and also by New English Bible) as revelry is not completely clear. In view of the immediate context and the reference to verse 4, stretch themselves, it seems best to understand it as feast: “and the feasting of those who sprawl at ease will be ended” (The Translator’s Old Testament).

Stretch themselves. The Hebrew word here is the same as the one used in verse 4 and is repeated so that the topic of verses 1-3 (first) and the topic of verses 4-6a are mentioned again here at the conclusion of this subsection. Unlike the case of first, however, the meaning of stretch themselves is the same in both cases, and so it can be translated here exactly the same way as in verse 4. However, there may be no expression of “sprawl” which is suitable for either passages, except for such long, cumbersome expressions as “to lay down your bodies as lazy people on beds.” Although English can use one single verb, the widely differing English translations show that even there translators felt a need to handle the Hebrew word differently in the two cases. So Good News Translation uses banquets referring to the whole of the event in which the “sprawling idlers” take part. Such restructurings, however, are often not very helpful for translators in other languages, since such words as feasts and banquets frequently have no literal equivalents elsewhere. In some cases it may be best to say: “your joy, (the joy of) you who live such a good life, will end,” “your fun will be finished!”

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 .