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I saw the Lord[a] standing by the altar[b] and he said,

“Strike the tops of the support pillars,[c] so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people,[d]
and I will kill the survivors[e] with the sword.
No one will be able to run away;[f]
no one will be able to escape.[g]
Even if they could dig down into the netherworld,[h]
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could climb up to heaven,
I would drag them down from there.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:1 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  2. Amos 9:1 sn The altar is perhaps the altar at Bethel.
  3. Amos 9:1 tn Or “the capitals.” The Hebrew singular form is collective.
  4. Amos 9:1 tn Heb “cut them off on the head of all of them.” The translation assumes the objective suffix on the verb refers to the tops of the pillars and that the following prepositional phrase refers to the people standing beneath. Another option is to take this phrase as referring to the pillars, in which case one could translate, “Knock all the tops of the pillars off.”
  5. Amos 9:1 tn Heb “the remnant of them.” One could possibly translate, “every last one of them” (cf. NEB “to the last man”). This probably refers to those who survive the collapse of the temple, which may symbolize the northern kingdom.
  6. Amos 9:1 tn Heb “a fugitive belonging to them will not run away.”
  7. Amos 9:1 tn Heb “a survivor belonging to them will not escape.”
  8. Amos 9:2 tn Heb “into Sheol” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), that is, the land of the dead localized in Hebrew thought in the earth’s core or the grave (cf. KJV “hell,” NCV, NLT “the place of the dead,” NIV “the depths of the grave”).

Israel to Be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.(B)
Though they dig down to the depths below,(C)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(D)
    from there I will bring them down.(E)

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Destruction of Israel

I saw my Lord standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, and shatter them on the head of all of them, and I will kill the rest of them with the sword. A fugitive belonging to them will not run away, and a survivor belonging to them will not escape. If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them, and even if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.

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I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

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