Chapter commentary
Amos Chapter 8
1
Am 8:1-14.
简体中文
English original
Am 8:1-14.
VISION OF A BASKET OF SUMMER FRUIT SYMBOLICAL, OF ISRAEL'S END. RESUMING THE SERIES OF SYMBOLS INTERRUPTED BY AMAZIAH, AMOS ADDS A FOURTH. THE AVARICE OF THE OPPRESSORS OF THE POOR: THE OVERTHROW OF THE NATION: THE WISH FOR THE MEANS OF RELIGIOUS COUNSEL, WHEN THERE SHALL BE A FAMINE OF THE WORD.
1. summer fruit--Hebrew, kitz. In
Am 8:2
"end" is in Hebrew, keetz. The similarity of sounds implies that, as the summer is the end of the year and the time of the ripeness of fruits, so Israel is ripe for her last punishment, ending her national existence. As the fruit is plucked when ripe from the tree, so Israel from her land.
2
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简体中文
2. 结局——
（结7:2、6）。
English original
2. end--
(Eze 7:2, 6).
3
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简体中文
3. 殿中的诗歌——
（摩5:23）。
犹大圣殿（更恰当地说，是伯特利的“王家圣殿”，
摩7:13；
因为全章所论的都是以色列，不是犹大）中的欢乐诗歌将变为“哀号”。格劳修斯（Grotius）译作“宫殿”；参
摩6:5
论那里的诗歌。 但
摩5:23
和摩7:13
都支持英文版的译法。
人必用寂静将他们抛弃——不是如旁注所说“寂静”。这是一个副词，“寂静地”。必有大屠杀，甚至来不及埋葬尸体[加尔文（Calvin）]。也没有寻常职业的哀哭者
（摩5:16），
尸体只被静悄悄地抛弃。也许还含有这样的意思：无论对神（参
摩6:10）
还是对仇敌的恐惧，都使他们闭口无言。
English original
3. songs of . . . temple--
(Am 5:23).
The joyous hymns in the temple of Judah (or rather, in the Beth-el "royal temple,"
Am 7:13;
for the allusion is to Israel, not Judah, throughout this chapter) shall be changed into "howlings." GROTIUS translates, "palace"; compare
Am 6:5,
as to the songs there. But
Am 5:23, and Am 7:13,
favor English Version.
they shall cast them forth with silence--not as the Margin, "be silent." It is an adverb, "silently." There shall be such great slaughter as even to prevent the bodies being buried [CALVIN]. There shall be none of the usual professional mourners
(Am 5:16),
but the bodies will be cast out in silence. Perhaps also is meant that terror, both of God (compare
Am 6:10)
and of the foe, shall close their lips.
4
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简体中文
4. 听——首领们需要被如此劝勉，因为他们恨恶听责备。
吞灭困苦人——或作“张口吞咬”，即垂涎他们的财物；该词如此用法见
伯7:2，
旁注。
使贫穷人衰败——“好使他们（自己）在地上独自居住”
（赛5:8）。
English original
4. Hear--The nobles needed to be urged thus, as hating to hear reproof.
swallow up the needy--or, "gape after," that is, pant for their goods; so the word is used,
Job 7:2,
Margin.
to make the poor . . . to fail--"that they (themselves) may be placed alone in the midst of the earth"
(Isa 5:8).
5
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简体中文
5. 他们贪图不义之财，连一日都舍不得放下，无论那日多么神圣。他们既与神生疏，又与自己为敌，因为爱市集之日胜过爱安息之日；人既失了敬虔，不久也必失了诚实。月朔
（民10:10）
和安息日都当守着不作工、不买卖
（尼10:31）。
摆出麦子——字面作“打开”麦仓出售。
伊法——含三细亚，约合三佩克。
卖出……小——卖给买主时短少重量。
舍客勒大——向买主收取多于当收的银钱重量。古时付款多用舍客勒称量
（创23:16）。
如此他们违背律法，犯下双重欺诈
（申25:13、14）。
English original
5. So greedy are they of unjust gain that they cannot spare a single day, however sacred, from pursuing it. They are strangers to God and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than sabbath days; and they who have lost piety will not long keep honesty. The new moons
(Nu 10:10)
and sabbaths were to be kept without working or trading
(Ne 10:31).
set forth wheat--literally, "open out" stores of wheat for sale.
ephah--containing three seahs, or above three pecks.
making . . . small--making it below the just weight to purchasers.
shekel great--taking from purchasers a greater weight of money than was due. Shekels used to be weighed out in payments
(Ge 23:16).
Thus they committed a double fraud against the law
(De 25:13, 14).
6
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简体中文
6. 用银子买……穷人……一双鞋——即我们好强迫困苦人为银子或任何价值微小的东西，把自己卖给我们作奴仆，无视
利25:39
的吩咐； 正是这事招致神的审判
（摩2:6）。
卖出……麦子中的渣滓——毫无营养之物，穷人因买不起面粉，便以低价买来充饥。
English original
6. buy . . . poor for silver . . . pair of shoes--that is, that we may compel the needy for money, or any other thing of however little worth, to sell themselves to us as bondmen, in defiance of
Le 25:39;
the very thing which brings down God's judgment
(Am 2:6).
sell the refuse of . . . wheat--which contains no nutriment, but which the poor eat at a low price, being unable to pay for flour.
7
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简体中文
7. 耶和华指着雅各的荣耀起誓——即指着祂自己起誓，因为雅各的后裔以祂为夸耀[毛勒（Maurer）]。更恰当地说，是指着以色列属灵的特权——被收纳为祂特有的子民[加尔文（Calvin）]——圣殿，以及象征祂同在的舍金纳。参
摩6:8，
那里指耶和华的圣殿（参
摩4:2）。
永远不忘——并非放过而不刑罚
（摩8:2； 何8:13；9:9）。
English original
7. Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob--that is, by Himself, in whom Jacob's seed glory [MAURER]. Rather, by the spiritual privileges of Israel, the adoption as His peculiar people [CALVIN], the temple, and its Shekinah symbol of His presence. Compare
Am 6:8,
where it means Jehovah's temple (compare
Am 4:2).
never forget--not pass by without punishing
(Am 8:2; Ho 8:13; 9:9).
8
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简体中文
8. 地……必全然涨起如水——地仿佛要全然化为一条泛滥的河（洪水是压倒性灾祸的象征，
但9:26）。
坍塌淹灭等——被冲走并被淹没，正如尼罗河泛滥时两岸之地所遭遇的一样
（摩9:5）。
尼罗河通常涨水二十英尺。水退之时便“吐出”淤泥和污物
（赛57:20）。
English original
8. the land . . . rise up wholly as a flood--The land will, as it were, be wholly turned into a flooding river (a flood being the image of overwhelming calamity,
Da 9:26).
cast out and drowned, &c.--swept away and overwhelmed, as the land adjoining the Nile is by it, when flooding
(Am 9:5).
The Nile rises generally twenty feet. The waters then "cast out" mire and dirt
(Isa 57:20).
9
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简体中文
9. “午间”升起的“黑暗”，是大灾祸的象征
（耶15:9； 结32:7-10）。
English original
9. "Darkness" made to rise "at noon" is the emblem of great calamities
(Jer 15:9; Eze 32:7-10).
10
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简体中文
10. 秃头——举哀的记号
（赛15:2； 耶48:37； 结7:18）。
使这日子……如人丧独生子之日——“这日子”，即“这地”
（摩8:9）。
我必使这地沦于父母为独生子举哀那样的光景
（耶6:26； 亚12:10）。
English original
10. baldness--a sign of mourning
(Isa 15:2; Jer 48:37; Eze 7:18).
I will make it as . . . mourning of an only son--"it," that is, "the earth"
(Am 8:9).
I will reduce the land to such a state that there shall be the same occasion for mourning as when parents mourn for an only son
(Jer 6:26; Zec 12:10).
11
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简体中文
11. 听耶和华话语的饥荒——是对那些如今不愿听主先知的话、甚至如亚玛谢那样想要赶走他们之人的公义报应
（摩7:12）；
他们在患难之中要徒然寻求属神的指引，正如先知如今所提供的
（结7:26； 弥3:7）。
参犹太人弃绝弥赛亚，以及祂因此弃绝他们
（太21:43）；
以及他们悔悟得太迟
（路17:22； 约7:34；8:21）。
照样，浪子在“远方”住了不多时，就在那“大饥荒”中“开始穷苦起来”
（路15:14；
参
撒上3:1；7:2）。
值得注意的是，犹太人的宗教几乎是唯一能违背百姓本意而被废除的宗教，因为它依附于一个特定的地方，即圣殿。当圣殿被毁，离开它便无法存在的摩西礼仪也就自然中止了。神的旨意本是如此：正如律法让位给福音，照样人人都当看见这是事实，尽管犹太人顽固地拒绝福音。
English original
11. famine of . . . hearing the words of the Lord--a just retribution on those who now will not hear the Lord's prophets, nay even try to drive them away, as Amaziah did
(Am 7:12);
they shall look in vain, in their distress, for divine counsel, such as the prophets now offer
(Eze 7:26; Mic 3:7).
Compare as to the Jews' rejection of Messiah, and their consequent rejection by Him
(Mt 21:43);
and their desire for Messiah too late
(Lu 17:22; Joh 7:34; 8:21).
So, the prodigal when he had sojourned awhile in the "far-off country, began to be in want" in the "mighty famine" which arose
(Lu 15:14;
compare
1Sa 3:1; 7:2).
It is remarkable that the Jews' religion is almost the only one that could be abolished against the will of the people themselves, on account of its being dependent on a particular place, namely, the temple. When that was destroyed, the Mosaic ritual, which could not exist without it, necessarily ceased. Providence designed it, that, as the law gave way to the Gospel, so all men should perceive it was so, in spite of the Jews' obstinate rejection of the Gospel.
12
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简体中文
12. 从这海飘流到那海——即从死海到地中海，从东到西。
从……北……到……东——我们也许期望“从北到南”。但以色列与犹大之间疏远至此，以致那时没有一个以色列人愿意往南去，即到耶路撒冷寻求宗教上的指教。这循环如
民34:3
等所记，只是省略了南方。他们“寻求耶和华的话”并非出于真诚顺服神的心，而是在刑罚的压力之下。
English original
12. they shall wander from sea to sea--that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west.
from . . . north . . . to . . . east--where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in
Nu 34:3,
&c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not be from a sincere desire to obey God, but under the pressure of punishment.
13
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简体中文
13. 因干渴而发昏——即干渴想听耶和华的话，因已失去一切别的安慰。少年强壮的尚且发昏，何况衰弱的呢
（赛40:30、31）！
English original
13. faint for thirst--namely, thirst for hearing the words of the Lord, being destitute of all other comfort. If even the young and strong faint, how much more the infirm
(Isa 40:30, 31)!
14
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简体中文
14. 指着撒玛利亚的罪起誓——即指牛犊
（申9:21； 何4:15）。
“指着……起誓”意为敬拜
（诗63:11）。
礼仪——即如“道”的用法
（诗139:24； 徒9:2），
指敬拜的方式。
但的神啊——指但的另一只金牛犊
（王上22:26-30）。
活……活——更宜作“愿你的神……活……愿礼仪……活”。或作“（诚然）但的神啊，你活着”。这是他们起誓时的套语；不是“愿耶和华活着！”或“耶和华活着！”
English original
14. swear by the sin of Samaria--namely, the calves
(De 9:21; Ho 4:15).
"Swear by" means to worship
(Ps 63:11).
The manner--that is, as "the way" is used
(Ps 139:24; Ac 9:2),
the mode of worship.
Thy god, O Dan--the other golden calf at Dan
(1Ki 22:26-30).
liveth . . . liveth--rather, "May thy god . . . live . . . may the manner . . . live." Or, "As (surely as) thy god, O Dan, liveth." This is their formula when they swear; not "May Jehovah live!" or, "As Jehovah liveth!"
摩8:1-14。
一筐夏天果子的异象， 象征以色列的结局。 阿摩司接续被亚玛谢 所打断的象征系列， 加上第四个。 欺压贫寒者者的贪婪： 国家的倾覆： 当神的话语饥荒之时， 人渴望宗教指引而不得。
1. 夏天果子——希伯来文为 kitz。
摩8:2
的“结局”希伯来文为 keetz。两者发音相近，暗示正如夏天是一年之末，也是果子成熟之时，照样以色列已成熟，可受她最后的刑罚，结束她作为国家的存在。正如果子成熟时便从树上摘下，照样以色列也要从她的地上被拔出来。