Amos 4
1 Hear ye this word, ye heifers of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, —who say to their lords, Bring in, and let us drink!
You [wealthy women] of Samaria [have grown fat like] [MET] the fat cows of the Bashan [region]. You oppress poor people and you cause needy people to suffer. And you say to your husbands, “Bring us [more wine] to drink!”
2 Sworn hath My Lord, Yahweh, by his own holiness, That lo! days, are coming upon you, —when he will take you away with hooks, and your followers with fishhooks;
But Yahweh [our] God has said this: “Because I am holy, I solemnly promise this: It will [soon] be the time when you all will be taken [to another country]; [your enemies will take you away as though they are] using sharp hooks [DOU] [to grab you].
3 And, through fissures, shall ye go out, every woman, straight before her, —and ye shall be thrust forth towards the castle, Declareth Yahweh.
[Your enemies] will drag you out through breaks/holes [in your city walls], and they will throw you outside the city. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!
4 Enter ye Bethel, and transgress, At Gilgal, cause transgression, to abound, —Yea, carry in, every morning, your sacrifices, every three days, your tithes;
Go to Bethel and Gilgal [towns where many people worship me] and sin more and more [SAR]! [I say that not because I want you to do it], [but because it is what you have always been doing]! Offer sacrifices on the morning [after you arrive], [and bring me] (a tithe/one tenth) of your crops the next day.
5 Yea, burn thou incense, of that which is leavened, as a thank-offering, and proclaim ye freewill-offerings, let them be known, —for, so, ye love [to have it], ye sons of Israel, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh.
Bring offerings of bread to thank me, and [other] offerings that are not required/commanded, and boast about [these offerings that you bring], because that is what you like to do, [but you do it to impress others, not to please me]. [That is certainly true, because I], Yahweh, have said it.
6 Moreover also, I, have given you cleanness of teeth throughout all your cities, and want of bread throughout all your dwelling-places, —Yet have ye not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
I [am the one who] caused there to be no food in any of your cities and towns [DOU], but you rejected me in spite of that.
7 Moreover also, I, have withholden from you the abundant rain, when yet there were only three mouths to the harvest, Or I might rain upon one city, and, on another city, might not rain, —One portion, would be rained upon, and, the portion whereupon it should not rain, would be dried up;
When it was still three months before [the time of] harvesting [crops], [at the time when your crops needed rain the most], I prevented rain from falling. [Sometimes] I allowed rain to fall on some towns and prevented it from falling on other towns. Rain fell on some fields, but it did not fall on other fields, with the result that [the soil in] those fields [where it did not rain] dried up.
8 Then would two or three cities totter to one city to drink water, without being satisfied, —Yet have ye not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
People would stagger from one town to another town to find water, but they could not even get enough water to drink, but in spite of that, you have not returned to me. [That is certainly true because I], Yahweh, have said it!
9 I have smitten you with blight and with mildew, When your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees have increased, the creeping locust would devour them, —Yet have ye not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
I caused your grain fields to dry up; I caused your gardens and vineyards to be struck/destroyed by (blight/hot winds) and mildew. [I sent] locusts to eat [the leaves on] your fig trees and olive trees, but in spite of that, you rejected me. [That is certainly true because I], Yahweh, have said it!
10 I have sent among you pestilence, in the manner of Egypt, I have slain, with the sword, your young men, and therewith have been taken captive your horses, And I have caused to ascend—the stench of your camps, even into your own nostrils, Yet ye have not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
I caused you to experience (plagues/severe sicknesses) like the plagues [that I sent to the people] of Egypt. I caused [many of] your young men to die in battles. I allowed [your enemies] to capture your horses. [Many of your soldiers were killed, ] and I caused your camps to be filled with the smell/stink of their [decaying] corpses. But in spite of that, you rejected me. [That is certainly true, because] I, Yahweh, have said it!
11 I have made an overthrew among you, like the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye have become like a brand snatched out of the burning, —Yet hate ye not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
I got rid of many of you, like I got rid of [the people in] Sodom and Gomorrah. [Those of] you who [did not die] were like [SIM] a burning stick that was snatched from a fire [so that it would not burn completely]. But in spite of that, you rejected me. [That is certainly true, because I], Yahweh, have said it!
12 Therefore, thus, will I do unto thee, O Israel, —Because this thing I will do unto thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
So [now], you [people of] Israel, I am going to punish you. Prepare to stand in front of me, your God, [when I judge you]!
13 For lo! He that fashioned the mountains, and created the wind, and who telleth the son of earth what is his thought, who turneth dawn into darkness, and marcheth upon the high places of the earth, Yahweh, God of hosts, is his name!
I created the mountains, and [I] created winds. I reveal to humans what I am thinking. I [sometimes] cause the daylight to become dark [like the night]. I [rule over everything]; I [even] walk on the highest mountains on the earth! I am the Commander of the armies of angels!”
