Go to Related Reading
About this book

LXX Amos

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 6

1 Woe to those who consider Zion worthless, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria: they have gathered the harvest of the heads of the nations, and they have gone in themselves, house of Israel. 2 Pass by, all of you, and see; and pass by from there to Hamath-Rabbah; and from there descend to Gath of the Philistines, the chief of all these kingdoms, see if their borders are greater than your borders. 3 You who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths; 4 who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls; 5 who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as dwelling, not as fleeting pleasures; 6 who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph. 7 Therefore now they will depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim. 8 For the Lord has sworn by himself, saying, Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, I do also hate his countries, and I will cut off his city with all who inhabit it. 9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die,⁠ and the remnant shall be left behind. 10 And their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavor to carry forth their bones from the house: and one shall say to the heads of the house, Is there yet any one else with you? And he shall say, No one else. And the other shall say, Be silent, that you do not name the name of the Lord. 11 For, look, the Lord commands, and he will strike the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents. 12 Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for you have turned judgment into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness: 13 you who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength? 14 For look, house of Israel, I will raise up against you a nation; and they shall afflict you so that you shall not enter into Hamath, and as far as the brook of the west.

Texts in conversation

Compare Amos 6:9 and LXX Amos 6:9

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

Share:

Summary

Amos 6 describes an image of total destruction, saying that even if ten people hide in one house, they will still die. The Greek Septuagint changes it to “and the remnant will be left,” softening the threat of total disaster to harmonize it with history.

Passages

Amos 6:9

Hebrew Bible
8 The Sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it.” 9 If 10 men are left in one house, they too will die. 10 When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” He will respond, “No one.” Then he will say, “Hush! Don’t invoke the Lord’s name!”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

LXX Amos 6:9

Septuagint
8 For the Lord has sworn by himself, saying, Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, I do also hate his countries, and I will cut off his city with all who inhabit it. 9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die, and the remnant shall be left behind. 10 And their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavor to carry forth their bones from the house: and one shall say to the heads of the house, Is there yet any one else with you? And he shall say, No one else. And the other shall say, Be silent, that you do not name the name of the Lord.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Amos

References

"... The Septuagint of Amos 6:9 (or its Hebrew Vorlage) includes a plus (καὶ λειφθήσονται οἱ καταλοιποί) that diminishes the threat of disaster. This phrase may have been motivated by Israel’s post-exilic history: It is impossible that Amos would have been ignorant of the turn after the exile ..."
Martin Meiser, The Septuagint and Its Reception: Collected Essays (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022), 38.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

Amos 6:9 and LXX Amos 6:9

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library