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14 Fast runners will find no place to hide;[a]
strong men will have no strength left;[b]
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
15 Archers[c] will not hold their ground;[d]
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses.[e]
16 Bravehearted[f] warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:14 tn Heb “and a place of refuge will perish from the swift.”
  2. Amos 2:14 tn Heb “the strong will not increase his strength.”
  3. Amos 2:15 tn Heb “the one who holds the bow.”
  4. Amos 2:15 tn For the idiom of “holding [or “standing”] one’s ground” in battle, there is a similar phrase in Ezek 13:5; also related is the expression “to hold one’s own against” (or “to withstand”) in Judg 2:14; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 8:7 (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 97). Other options include “will not endure” or “will not survive.”
  5. Amos 2:15 tn The last two lines read literally, “The one fast in his feet will not rescue [his life], and the rider of the horse will not rescue his life.” The phrase “his life” does double duty in the parallelism and should be understood in both lines.
  6. Amos 2:16 tn Or “the most stouthearted” (NAB); cf. NRSV “those who are stout of heart.”

14 The swift will not escape,(A)
    the strong(B) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(C)
15 The archer(D) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(E) will not save his life.(F)
16 Even the bravest warriors(G)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

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