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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

THE UTTERANi
OF AMOS
ARRANGED STROPHICALLY

By WILLIAM R. HARPER
PROFESSOR OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATI)
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, CHICAGO, ILLI]

CHICAGO
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
1900

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS ARRANGED
STROPHICALLY.12

By William R. Harper,
The University of Chicago.

In the following pages an effort is made to present the poetic
pieces of the prophet Amos in a form which will suggest their
original strophic structure.2 Those passages which may not be
ascribed to Amos himself are printed in italics. Changes and
rearrangements of the text are indicated in footnotes. No
attempt is made to give in full the reasons for such changes
and rearrangements, since this would require too much space,
and at the same time be a departure from the present purpose.
The Revised Version is employed as a basis, but wherever a
different rendering would give a better sense, it is adopted.
I. JUDGMENTS UPON THE NATIONS, ' i : 3 — 2 : 5.
Introduction — Amos 1 : 1.3
. The words of Amos
Who was among the herchnen of Tekoa,
Which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, King of fudah,
and in the days of feroboam, son of foash, King of Israel,
Two years before the earthquake.
The Text or Motto — 1 :2.4
[And he said]
Yahweh roars from. Zion,
And utters his voice from ferusalem ;
And the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of Carmel withers.
'Reprinted from the Biblical World, August, September, October, and Novem
ber, 1898, pp. 86-9, 179-82, 251-6, 333-8.
2 See the writer's " Suggestions concerning the Original Text and Structure of Amos
I :3 — 2:5," in the American fournal of Theology, Vol I (1897), pp. 140-45.
8 The introduction is prose and clearly from a later hand.
4The text or motto is a stanza of four lines in the movement of a trimeter, that is,
with three words (in the original) to each line.

2 THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
Judgments upon Syria and Philistia — i 13-5 ;" 1 :6-8.s
(1) Thus said Yahweh : ,
For three transgressions of Damascus,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
Because they have threshed with threshing instruments of iron
Gilead.
(2) And so I will send fire into the house of Hazael,
And it shall devour the palaces of Benhadad,
And I will break the bar of Damascus.
(3) And I will cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,
And him that holds the scepter from the house of Eden,
And the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,
[Said Yahweh].'
(1) Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of Gaza,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
Because they carried captive an entire captivity,
To deliver them up to Edom.
(2) And so I will send fire on the wall of Gaza,
And it shall devour her palaces,
And I will turn my head against Ekron.
(3) And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
And him that holds the scepter from Ashk'elon,
And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,
[Said the Lord Yahweh].3
Judgments upon Ammon and Moab — 1 : 13-15 ;* 2 : 1-3. 5
(1) Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of the children of Ammon,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
1 The change in I : 3-5 is to connect and I mill break the bar of Damascus with
str. 2, instead of with str. 3.
2 The change in 1 : 6-8. is to transpose and I will turn my head against Ekron.
3 It will be seen that the two sections, as arranged, correspond exactly in lan
guage and in progress of thought. Each has three strophes of 5 — )— 3 -(- 3 lines.
The trimeter movement prevails. In the Hebrew the similarity is even greater than
it appears in the translation.
4 The change in I : 13-15 is to treat with a tempest in the day of whirlwind as a
gloss. 5The change in 2 : 1-3 is twofold, viz., to read 1 a § o d h instead of laSidh
(into lime), and to transpose the line Moab shall die with tumult, and change its trans
lation as given above.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS 3
Because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead
That they might enlarge their border.
(2) And so I will kindle fire in the wall of Rabbah,
And it shall devour her palaces
With shouting in the day of battle.
(3) And their king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,
Said Yahweh.1
(1) Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of Moab,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
Because they burned the bones of the king of Edom,
Thus violating the dead, in return for desolation to Moab (?).
(2) And so I will send fire against Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth
With shouting, with the sound of the trumpet.
(3) And I will cut off the 'judge from the midst thereof
And will slay all the princes thereof with him,
Said Yahweh.1
Judgments upon Tyre, Edom, and Judah2 — 1:9, 10;3 1:11, 12;4
2:4, 5.S
(1) Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of Tyre,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
Because they delivered up an entire captivity to Edom,
And did not remember the covenant of brethren.
(2) And so I will send fire against the wall of Tyre,
And it shall devour the palaces thereof.6
1 It will be seen that these two sections, as thus arranged, correspond exactly.
Each has three strophes of 5 4~ 3 + 3 lines. The trimeter movement prevails as before.
2 For the evidence that these three sections are of later date see the American
Journal of Theology, Vol. I, No. I, pp. 140-45.
3 No change is made; for this is the original type of the shorter section.
4 Three changes have been made : (1) Omission of the gloss, and did cast off all
pity (1 : 11); (2) omission of the gloss, and he kept his wrath forever (1 : 11) ; (3)
change of Dim to "lEm (1 :n).
s One change is made : The omission of the gloss, and their lies have caused them
Jo err after which their fathers did walk (2 : 4).
6 These three sections stand together and differ radically from the first four.
Str. 1, in each case, includes as before (1) the divine authority, (2) the use of the sym
bolical numbers, (3) the general change, (4) the specific change; str. 2, in each case,

4 THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
(i) Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of Edom,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
Because he pursued his brother with the sword.
And preserved his anger perpetually .
(2) And so I will send fire against Teman.
And it shall devour the palaces of Bo zr ah?
(1) Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of fudah.
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it.
Because they have refected the law of Yahweh
And have not kept his statutes.
(2) And so I will send fire against fudah,
And it shall devour the palaces of ferusalem}
It is apparent that the writer has it in mind to treat his subject
poetically. The monotonous repetitions are one element in the
poetic art, for the harshness, the severity, and the certainty of
the doom are thus pictured. The variation in type, strangely
enough, distinguishes the real words of Amos from the words
which a later prophet adds in the same spirit. Hebrew poetry
does not furnish many poetic efforts of the character. We are,
of course, reminded of the numerical proverbs (Prov., chap.
30). II. JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL, 2:6-16.
1. Injustice and Oppression in Israel2 — 3:6-8.
Thus said Yahweh :
For three transgressions of Israel,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke it,
Because they have sold for silver the righteous,
And the needy for a pair of shoes.
(1) has two lines instead of three, (2) predicts destruction by fire, (3) corresponds to
lines 1 and I of str. 2 of the four preceding sections.
1 See footnote 6, p. 3.
2 This division has three strophes of the trimeter movement. Each strophe con
tains a single verse, but it seems best to transpose vs. 7 to follow vs. 8. This trans
position avoids much that is abrupt, renders the order of thought more regular, secures
a climax in the statement, and makes the connection close between this division of
the piece and the- next.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS 5
And because garments taken in pledge they spread out
Beside every altar ;
And the wine of those fined they drink
In the houses of their god.
Who tread on the head of the poor,
And the way of the humble turn aside,
And a man and his judge deal according to agreement,1
And so profane my holy name.
2. Yahweh's Unavailing Efforts to Build up Israel — 2:o,-i2.2
And it was I who brought you up out of Egypt
And led you in the wilderness forty years
To possess the land of the Amorite.
And I destroyed before them the Amorite
Whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as
the oaks ;
Yet I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from beneath.
And I raised up your sons for prophets and your young men for
Nazirites ;
But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink and upon the prophets ye
laid prohibition.
Is it not even thus, O children of Israel ? saith Yahweh.
3. The Impending Calamity — 2: 13-16.34
Behold, I will make you groan in your places,
1 In the ordinary translation, " a man and his father go unto the same maid ; " this
means nothing in this connection, and by the change of a singular letter reads as
above. (So Hoffmann.)
2 This piece stands in closest connection with the preceding ; cf. the contrast
between their profanation of his holy name and the thought which immediately
follows. It falls into three strophes, each of three pentameters, or six alternating
trimeters and dimeters, preferably the former ; since the long-drawn-out lines picture
the historical details given and form a contrast with the quick trimeter movement of
vss. 13-15 which follow. It is necessary to transfer vs. 10 to precede vs. 9, because
this is a simple historical statement, and the chronological order is self-evident, while
nothing is gained by trying to explain that vs. 9, although later in time, is put before
vs. 10 to emphasize the greatness of the victory over the tall and mighty aborigines.
The confusion grew out of the fact that both strophes began with the same word. The
whole of vs. 9 grows out of and depends upon the mention of the Amorite in vs. 10.
Vs. 12 (But ye gave, etc.) is transferred so as to precede vs. 11 b (Is it not, etc.).
3 The charge of wickedness was made in the first strophe, the futile efforts of
Yahweh to save the nation are narrated in the second. The third gives us the climax :
Israel must suffer for her sins.
4 This piece, forming the third of the dreadful trilogy, comes back to the trimeter

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
Just as the threshing sledge causes to groan
(The floor) that is filled with sheaves.
* $ Jfc * * sjs % *
Then shall refuge fail the swift,1
And the strong shall not strengthen his force,
Neither shall the mighty man deliver himself,
He that handleth the bow shall not stand.
And the swift of foot shall not deliver himself,
And he that is courageous among the mighty,
And he that is skilled shall not deliver himself,
And he that rideth a horse shall fall away in that day." '¦
[Said Yahweh.]

III. THE ROAR OF THE LION; DESTRUCTION IS COMING,
3 : I-8-3
Hear this word that Yahweh hath spoken against you,
Against the whole family which I brought out of the land of Egypt :
You only have I known of all the families of the earth ;
(But you have forsaken and rejected Yahweh your God,)4
movement. The movement then becomes short and quick, as if by its very form to
foretell the coming doom.
1 A comparison of the second aud third strophes shows a general purpose on the
part of the writer to represent the thought with the same words arranged in a some
what striking manner. Two transpositions make the similarities of the strophes still
more striking, and the parallelism more perfect.
2 The thought of these three divisions of the piece is a unit : (1) The nation has
sinned grievously, treating the poor and needy unjustly and oppressing them beyond
all measure, until their behavior has become in the eyes of the world a profanation of
Yahweh's holy name. (2) This immoral condition is due to no lack of effort or knowl
edge, since he had led Israel out of Egypt, and had driven the Canaanites before
them, and had given teachers who should declare righteousness to them ; but all his
care had been without result. (3) For her sins Israel must suffer. The nation shall
perish. No one, not even the swiftest and strongest, shall escape.
3 The ordinary view which makes this passage an explanation of the prophet's
mission, upon the ground that he is compelled by Yahweh's power to speak, though
against his will, does not bear close examination.
The strophic arrangement of the passage is five strophes, namely of 2 -)- 4 -(- 4
-|- 4 -L- 2 lines. The pentameter movement is better adapted to the thought than the
trimeter. 4 This strophe seems to have lost one of its four lines, the restoration of which
(But you have forsaken and rejected Yahweh your God) greatly aids in securing an
intelligible interpretation.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
Therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities ;
Can two walk together if they be not agreed ?
Does a lion roar in the forest when there is no prey for him ?
Does a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing ?
Does a bird fall upon the ground if there is no hunter ?
Does a snare fly up without catching anything ?
Is a trumpet sounded in the city and the people do not tremble ?
Can evil happen in the city and Yahweh not have caused it ?
But the Lord God does nothing,
Except he reveal his purpose to his servants the prophets.
The lion having roared, who does not fear ?
The Lord God having spoken, who is it that cannot prophesy ?

IV. THE DOOM OF SAMARIA, 3 : 9—4 : 3.1
Publish ye in the palaces at Ashdod and in the palaces in the land
of Egypt, and say :
Assemble yourselves upon the mountain of Samaria and see the mani
fold tumults therein,
And (how) they know not to do right, saith Yahweh,
These who treasure violence and oppression in their palaces.
Therefore (saith Yahweh) an adversary shall surround the land,
And he shall strip from thee thy strength and thy palaces shall be
plundered ;
And I will smite the winter house together with the summer house,
And the houses of ivory shall perish, yea many houses shall perish.
Thus saith Yahweh of Hosts : as the shepherd rescues,
From the mouth of the lion, two legs or the piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be rescued who live in Samaria
In the corner of a couch, in the damask of a divan.
Hear ye and testify against the house of Jacob, saith Yahweh,
Surely I will inflict punishment upon the altars of Bethel
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.
1 The strophic arrangement of this piece, which is entirely separate from the pre
ceding and from the following, was 4~)-4-(-4-(-4-t- 4+ 4 pentameters. To restore
this certain minor changes in the text are necessary, as well as the transfer of vs. 15 to
follow vs. II.
These strophes logically divide themselves into three groups, each of two, and in
the first strophe of each group reference is made to Samaria.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan,
Who * * * * in the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
Who say to their husbands, give that we may drink:
The Lord Yahweh hath sworn by his holiness,
Surely indeed the days are coming upon you,
When ye shall be taken with hooks, the last of you with fish-hooks,
And through breaches ye shall go forth straight, and be driven to
Hermon.1

V. ISRAEL'S FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND DIVINE JUDGMENT,
4:4-i3-23
i . Come to Bethel and transgress,
To Gilgal and increase transgression ;
And bring your sacrifices every morning,
Every third day your tithes.
2. Burn of leavened bread a thank-offering
And proclaim free-will offerings, publish them ;
For so love ye to do, O sons of Israel,
Saith the Lord Yahweh.
"The thought in brief is this: (i) So great is the wickedness of the capital city,
Samaria, that even Egypt and Philistia, called upon to view the inside of Samaria's
walls, are astonished at what they see. (2) But an enemy is coming who will quickly
lay waste this beautiful and luxurious city. What remains will be as nothing. Even
the altars of Bethel shall be included in the dreadful destruction. (3) The women of
Samaria, because of their debaucheries, must share the punishment. They shall be
carried away captives through breaches in the walls.
2 This piece, however different in movement and structure from any that has
preceded, is none the less artistic. In its original form it consisted of nine strophes,
each containing four trimeters. Of these the first and second strophes, which form
the introduction, are closely connected ; likewise the eighth and ninth, which form
the conclusion. The third and the seventh strophes, each of which is introduced by a
verb in the first person and characterized by the refrain, "but you did not return to me,
saith Yahweh," make the body of the poem. The attempt of Professor David Hein-
rich Miiller, of Vienna, to secure in this passage strophes of 5 -|- 4 -|— 3 -{- 2 -|— 1 -|—
refrain, that is, sixteen lines with the introduction of eight lines and a closing strophe
of eight lines, is a failure.
3 The changes of text involved in the reconstruction are as follows :
(1) The rejection in 4 :7a of the words,"when there were yet three months."
(2) The rejection of Jb and all of 8, except the refrain, as a gloss.
(3) The rejection of the gloss in vs. 10, " with the captivity of your forces."
(4) The treatment of vs. 13 as a later addition, with the exception of the last
clause (Yahweh, God of Hosts, is (my?) name), which is transferred to follow vs. 12a.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS 9
3. I also it was who gave to you
Cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places ;
But ye did not return to me, saith Yahweh.
4. I also withheld from you rain,1
And I caused it to rain upon one city,
And upon another city I caused it not to rain ;
But ye did not return to me, saith Yahweh.2
5. I smote you with blight and decay;
Your many gardens and vineyards
And your fig trees and olive trees, the locust devoured ;
But ye did not return to me, saith Yahweh.
6. I sent among you pestilence, after the manner of Egypt ;
Your young men I slew with the sword,3
And I caused the stench of your camp to rise even into your nostrils;
But ye did not return to me, saith Yahweh.
7. I overthrew among you * * * *
Like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah,
And ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning ;
But ye did not return to me, saith Yahweh.
8. Therefore thus will I do to thee, O Israel ;
Yahweh, God of Hosts is (my ?) name ;
Because I will do this unto thee,
Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
9. [For lo it is he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind,
And telleth man what is his thought,
It is he that maketh the dawn darkness,
And walketh upon the heights of the earth.]

VI. A DIRGE ANNOUNCING ISRAEL'S COMING DESTRUCTION,
5 : 1-6 ; 8 : 9.4
1. Hear this word
Which I take up against you
1 The phrase in vs. 7, " While yet there remained three months to the harvest," is
an addition. 2 The sentence in yb and 8a, " One field was rained upon and the field whereupon
it rained not withered ; and two or three cities staggered to one city for water to drink
and were not satisfied," is an addition.
3 The phrase in vs. 10, "And I have carried away your horses," is an addition.
4 The original poem consisted of six strophes, vss. 1-6. To these were added

10 THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
For a lamentation, 0 house of Israel,
For thus saith the Lord Yahweh.1
2. She, is fallen never again to rise,
The virgin of Israel ;
She is cast down upon her land,
There is none to raise her up ;
3. The city that goeth forth a thousand
Having (only) a hundred left ;
And that which goeth forth a hundred
Having (only) ten left to the house of Israel.
4. For thus saith Yahweh
To the house of Israel,
Seek ye me and ye shall live,
And seek not Bethel.
5. Gilgal ye shall not enter,
And to Beersheba ye shall not pass,
For Gilgal shall surely come into captivity
And Bethel shall come to naught.
6. Seek Yahweh and ye shall live
Lest he break out like fire
In the house of Joseph
And there be none to quench it in Bethel.
7* * * * * * *
[That made Pleiades and Orion
And turneth the deep darkness into morning,
And maketh the day dark with the night ;
8. That calleth for the waters of the sea
And poureth them out upon the face of the earth,
That bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong,
So that destruction cometh upon the fortress.]
VII. TRANSGRESSORS SHALL COME TO GRIEF, 5:7, 10-17.2
1. Ye who turn judgment into gall,
And cast down righteousness to the earth ;
by a later hand two strophes, each having four trimeters. Vs. 7 should be immedi
ately connected with vs. 10, and belongs to the following poem. The addition is
after the analogy of the insertion already noticed in 4:13. The second and third
strophes are elegiac in movement, a shorter line, dimeter, and a longer line, trimeter.
1 This line is transferred from vs. 3.
2 This poem consists of three double strophes, each double strophe including one

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS I I
And hate him that reproveth in the gate,
And abhor him that speaketh uprightly ;
2. Therefore, because ye trample upon the lowly,
And take from him exactions of wheat, —
Houses of hewn stone ye have built,
But ye shall not dwell in them ;
Pleasant vineyards ye have planted,
But ye shall not drink the wine thereof.
3. Surely I know your transgressions as many,
And your sins as grievous,
Ye that persecute the righteous and take bribes
And the needy in the gate thrust aside ;
4. Therefore, he that is prudent in such times
Will be silent, for it is an evil time.
Seek ye good and not evil,
In order that ye may live ;
And that Yahweh, God of Hosts,
Shall be with you as ye say.
5 . Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate ;
Perhaps Yahweh will spare,
The God of Hosts, the remnant of Joseph.
6. Therefore, thus saith Yahweh,
The God of Hosts, the Lord,
In all broad ways shall be mourning ;
In all streets they shall say, Alas ! Alas !
And they shall call the husbandman to mourning,
And to lamentations those who are skilled in wailing.1

VIII. THE DOOM OF CAPTIVITY, 5 : 18 —6 : 14.2
Part I — 5 : 18-27.
1. Woe unto you that desire the day of Yahweh ;
It is darkness and not light,
As if a man did flee from a lion and a bear met him,
of four and one of six lines. The first part of each double strophe contains a char
acterization of the times. The second part, introduced by a " therefore," describes
the calamity which is coming upon them as a punishment.
'The sentence in vs. 17, "Yea, in all vineyards there shall be lamentation, for I
will pass through the midst of thee, saith Yahweh," is an addition.
2 This poem consists of three triple strophes, each strophe of the nine containing
six lines. In each triple strophe the first presents a woe (in the third this woe becomes

12 THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
Or went into a house and leaned his hand upon a wall and a serpent
bit him ;
Is not the day of Yahweh darkness and not light,
Even very dark, and no brightness in it ?
2. I despise your feasts and delight not in your festivals ;
For if-ye offer me burnt offerings and vegetable offerings I am not
pleased ; *
Away with the noise of your songs, and let me not hear the sound of
your viols ;
But let justice roll down as waters and righteousness as a living
stream .
3. Did ye bring me sacrifices and peace offerings
In the wilderness during forty years, O house of Israel ?
Ye have borne Sikkuth your king, even Chiun your star-god,
Images which you have made for yourselves ;
Therefore I will lead you captive beyond Damascus,
Saith Yahweh whose name is God of Hosts.
Part II — 6 : 1-7.
1. Woe unto you who are careless in Zion,
And the reckless in the Mount of Samaria ;
The noted of the first of the nations
Unto whom Israel's house comes,2
Who put far away the day of evil
And cause the seat of violence to come near.
2. Who lie 6n ivory couches,
And stretched upon their divans,
Who eat lambs from the flocks,
an oath); the second presents a phase of the wickedness of the situation, ei g., (1) the
utter formality of worship, (2) the luxury of life and apathy of feeling, (3) the pride
and self-confidence; the third pictures the coming captivity, e. g., (1) captivity
beyond Damascus, (2) a captivity at the head of the captives, (3) the complete sur
render of the country to a foreign enemy. The symmetry of the three divisions is
almost perfect.
1 The sentence in vs. 22, " The peace offerings of your fatlings I regard not," is
an addition. 2 Vs. 2 is an addition, viz.:
Pass ye into Calneh,
And from thence go ye to Hamath the Great,
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Be they better than these kingdoms,
Or is their border greater than your border ?

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS I 3
And calves from the midst of the stall ;
Who twitter to the note of the psaltery ;
Like David they devise instruments for themselves.
Who drink wine from basins,
And with the first of oil anoint themselves,
And are not grieved on account of Joseph's affliction ?
Therefore they shall go into captivity at the head of the captives,
And the shout of the banqueters shall cease,
Saith Yahweh, God of Hosts.

.Part III — 6:8-14.
The Lord Yahweh hath sworn by himself :
I abhor the glory of Jacob,
And his palaces I hate ;
And I will give over the city and its contents ;
And the great house shall be smitten with breaches
And the little house with clefts.1
Can horses run upon the rock ?
Can one plow the sea with oxen ?
That ye have turned justice into gall,
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Ye that rejoice in a thing of naught,
Ye who say, have we not taken to us horns by our strength ?
Surely I will raise up against you,
O house of Israel, a nation ;
And they shall oppress you,
From the entering in of Hamath,
Unto the valley of Arabah,
Saith Yahweh, God of Hosts.

VIII. THREE VISIONS OF DESTRUCTION, 7: 1-9.2
1. Thus the Lord Yahweh shewed me :
1 Vss. 9, 10, and us are an addition, viz. : And it shall come to pass that if there
remain ten men in one house they shall die, and when a man's uncle shall take him
up, even he that burneth him, to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say unto
him that is in the innermost parts of the house, is there any with thee, and he shall
say no. Then shall he say hold thy peace, for we may not make mention of the name
of the Lord. For, behold, the Lord commandeth.
2 The second portion of the book of Amos begins with three visions of destruction :
(1) a vision of devouring locusts, the destruction stayed by the interposition of Yah-

14 THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
And behold, he formed locusts
In the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth.1
And it came to pass when they had finished
Eating the grass of the land,
I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee :
How can Jacob stand ? for he is small.
Yahweh repented concerning this ;
It shall not be, saith Yahweh.
2. Thus the Lord Yahweh shewed me :
And behold, he was calling to contend
By fire, the Lord Yahweh.
And it devoured the great deep
And had begun to devour the field,
And I said, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee.
How can Jacob stand ? for he is small.
Yahweh repented concerning this,
This also shall not be, saith Yahweh.
3. Thus he shewed me :
And behold, the Lord standing
By a plumb wall with a plumb line in his hand.
And the Lord said, behold, I am putting a plumb line"
In the midst of my people, Israel ;
I will not again pass by them any more.
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.
weh's hand ; (2) a vision of devouring fire, the destruction stayed again by the inter
position of Yahweh's hand ; (3) a vision of a plumb line, the destruction this time
permitted to become complete.
It would seem that this section, like those that have preceded it, is a poem. The
form and style are, in many respects, similar to those found in the first piece, chaps.
I and 2. The poem consists of three stanzas of nine trimeters each. These stanzas
present in common a remarkable symmetry, each falling logically into three sub
divisions. The first and second are strictly parallel throughout. The third stanza is,
from its nature, essentially different, and yet the difference is one of thought rather
than of form.
1 " And lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings " is a gloss.
2 Vs. 8a, " And Yahweh said unto me, Amos, what seest thou ? And I said, a
plumb line," is omitted as a gloss.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS I 5
IX. AN ACCUSATION AND A REPLY, 7:10-17.'
1 . Then sent Amaziah the priest of Bethel
To Jeroboam king of Israel, saying,
Amos hath conspired against thee,
In the midst of the house of Israel ;
The land is not able
To contain all his words.
For thus saith Amos :
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
And Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.
Then said Amaziah unto Amos :
O seer, go, flee thee away to the land of Judah
And eat bread and prophesy there.
And in Bethel thou shalt no longer prophesy,
For it is the sanctuary of the king,
And it is the house of the kingdom.
2. Then answered Amos and said to Amaziah :
I am no prophet, neither am I a prophet's son.
But I am an herdman and a dresser of sycamore trees,
And Yahweh took me from following after the flock, .
And Yahweh said unto me :
Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
Now therefore hear thou the word of Yahweh :
Thou sayest, prophesy not against Israel
And drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
Therefore, thus saith Yahweh :
Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city,
And thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword,
And thy land shall be divided by line ;
And thou thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean,
And Israel shall surely be led away captive out of the land.
1 This passage has always been taken as a piece of historical prose thrown in
between the first and second groups of visions. It is clearly an episode growing out
of former utterances of Amos. At first sight it would seem to be prose, and yet mere
prose would scarcely be expected even in an episode, if we remember (1) the very early
date of the work of Amos and the tendency at this early date to describe all events in
poetry ; (2) the fact that Amos in his introductory address, which was very prosaic and
monotonous, nevertheless adopted the poetic form and worked out the various state
ments in so careful a manner as to make them seem almost artificial. If, now, we note
(1) the many plain cases of synonymous and antithetic parallelism which the passage

1 6 THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
X. A FOURTH VISION OF DESTRUCTION WITH AN EXPLANA
TORY DISCOURSE, 8 : 1-14.1 2
1. Thus shewed me the Lord Yahweh :
And behold a basket of summer fruit
*******
And said unto me Yahweh,
The end is come upon my people Israel ;
I will not again pass by them any more.
2. Hear this, O ye who swallow up the needy
And cause the poor of the land to fail, saying,
When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn,
And the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat ?
Making the ephah small and the shekel great
And dealing falsely with the balances of deceit.
3. Yahweh hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob,
Surely, I will never forget any of their works.
Shall not the land tremble for this,
And everyone mourn that dwelleth therein ?
Yea, it shall rise up wholly like the River,
And it shall be troubled and sink again like the river of Egypt.
contains; (2) the logical division into two parts (vss. 10-13 and 14-17) ; (3) the triple
division of the first part, namely, vs. 10, six lines ; vs. 1 1, three lines ; vss. 12 and 13, six
lines; (4) a similar triple division of the second part, namely, vss. 14 and 15, six lines ;
vs. 16, three lines; vs. 17, six lines ; (5) the measure of the first part, regular trimeter,
and that of the second, regular tetrameter, we have sufficient data for supposing that
this was intended to be poetry. The artistic skill which put the accusation in the
trimeter movement and the strong and terrible reply in the heavier and statelier tetram
eter is characteristic of Amos. The symmetry throughout is extraordinary, and the
arrangement of the piece, as thus reconstructed, is as given in the text.
1 This section is a logical unit. Its structure is composed of seven strophes, trimeter
movement, each of six lines. Each strophe represents a step in the progress of the
thought. Str. 1 (vs. 1), the vision that the end has come ; str. 2 (vss. 4-6), an
appointed arraignment of those who stand accused ; str. 3 (vss. 7, 8), the threat of
wrath; str. 4 (vss. 9 and 3), the darkening of the sun, the slaughter of the multitude;
str. 5 (vs. 10), there shall be deep and universal mourning ; str. 6 (vss. 1 1, 12), the aban
donment of his people by Yahweh ; str. 7 (vss. 13, 14), despair, confusion, and destruc
tion. 2 The most important modifications of the texts are the following: (1) the
omission of vs. 2a, the question and answer; a gloss after the style of Zechariah;
(2) the transposition of vs. 3 to follow vs. 9; (3) the omission of vs. 6. which consists
of the repetitions with slight change of chap. 2 : 6b, and of the phrase, " we may sell
the refuse of the wheat;" (4) the omission of certain stereotyped phrases in vs. 11a.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS 17
4. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Yahweh,
I will cause the sun to go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in the clear day.
And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day,
Saith the Lord Yahweh ; the dead bodies shall be many ;
In every place shall they cast them forth with silence.
5. And I will turn your feasts into mourning,
And all your songs into lamentation ;
And I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins,
And baldness upon every head ;
And I will make it as the mourning for an only son,
And the end thereof as a bitter day.
6. And I will send a famine in the land,
Not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water,
But of the hearing of the words of Yahweh.
And they shall wander from sea to sea,
And from the north even to the east they shall run to and fro,
To seek the word of Yahweh and shall not find it.
7. In that day shall faint for thirst
Fair virgins and young men ;
They who swear by the sin of Samaria
And say, As thy God, O Dan, liveth ;
And as the way of Beersheba liveth,
Even they shall fall and never rise up again.

XI. A FIFTH VISION OF DESTRUCTION WITH A DESCRIPTION
OF THE RUIN, 9:1-83.'
1. I saw the Lord standing beside the altar:
And he said, smite the chapiters, that the thresholds may shake ;
And break them in pieces on the head of all of them ;
And I will slay the last of them with the sword.
1 This includes (1) a vision of the downfall of the altar and the ruin of the votaries;
(2) the vivid expression of the thought that escape is impossible ; and (3) the assurance
that Israel, because of her sins, will be treated like other nations. The structure of
this section is composed of four strophes of six lines each. The movement for the
most part is tetrameter, although occasionally, for the sake of more vivid description,
it falls into the trimeter. The more important modifications of the text are (1) the
treatment of vss. 5 and 6 as a later interpolation on the same grounds as were
assigned for 4:13, 5 : 8, 9 ; (2) the omission of vs. Sb, which was inserted by a later
hand to modify the absolute assertion of destruction, and as a connecting link to the
section of promise which was added likewise by the same hand.

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS
There shall not one of them flee away,
And there shall not one of them escape.
Though they dig into hell,
Thence shall my hand take them ;
And though they climb up to heaven,
Thence will I bring them down.
And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel,
Thence will I search and take them out.
And though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea,
Thence will I command the serpent and he shall bite them,.
And though they go into captivity before their enemies,
Thence will I command the sword and it shall slay them ;
And I will set mine eyes upon them,
For evil and not for good.
Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me,
O sons of Israel ? saith Yahweh.
Have not I brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir ?
Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are upon the sinful kingdom,
And I will destroy it from off the face of the earth.1

XII. A LATER VOICE OF PROMISE, 9:8^-15.=
Saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,
1. For, lo, I will command,
And I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations,
As corn is sifted in a sieve :
1 Vss. 5 and 6 are from a later hand and are as follows :
The Lord Yahweh of hosts
Is he that toucheth the land and it melteth,
And all that dwell therein shall mourn.
And it shall rise up wholly like the River
And shall sink like the river of Egypt.
It is he that buildeth his chambers in the heaven
And hath founded his vault upon the earth ;
He that calleth for the waters of the sea and poureth them out
Upon the face of the earth ; Yahweh is his name.
2 This contains (1) a modification of the prophetic utterance concerning the exile,
making it a source of discipline rather than a doom (vss. 8b, 9, 10); (2) a description
of the lifting up of David's hut now fallen (vss. 11, 12); and (3) a picture of restoration
of prosperity and strength (vss. 13-15). This section is composed of three strophes of

THE UTTERANCES OF AMOS 19
Yet shall not fall the least grain upon the earth,
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
Which say, evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
2. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen,
And close up the breaches thereof and raise up his ruins.
And 1 will build it as in the days of old ;
That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations,
Which are called by my name,
Saith Yahweh, that doeth this.
3. Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh,
That the plowman shall overtake the reaper, >
And the treader of grapes him that soweth seed ;
And the mountains shall drop sweet wine,
And all the hills shall melt,
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel.
4. And they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them,
And they shall plant the vineyards and drink the wine thereof,
And they shall make gardens and eat the fruit of them.
And I will plant them upon their land,
And they shall no more be plucked up out of their land,
Which I have given them, saith Yahweh thy' God.
six lines each. The movement is tetrameter. This section, although placed here
side by side with the other, is, in all probability, the production of a prophet of later
times. Str. 1 is introduced by the transition clause, " Saving that I will not utterly
destroy the house of Jacob."