Amos 6:4-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Amos 6:4 tn Heb “beds of ivory.”
2. Amos 6:5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”
3. Amos 6:5 tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”
4. Amos 6:5 sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).
5. Amos 6:5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khash^evu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; and (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).
6. Amos 6:6 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
7. Amos 6:6 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
8. Amos 6:6 tn Or “not sickened by.”
9. Amos 6:6 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
10. Amos 6:7 tn Heb “they will go into exile at the head of the exiles.”
11. Amos 6:7 sn Religious banquets. This refers to the מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh), a type of pagan religious banquet popular among the upper class of Israel at this time and apparently associated with mourning. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 137-61; J. L. McLaughlin, The “Marzeah” in the Prophetic Literature (VTSup). Scholars debate whether at this banquet the dead were simply remembered or actually venerated in a formal, cultic sense.
12. Amos 6:7 tn Heb “of the sprawled out.” See v. 4.