7:14 Amos’s reply in v. 14 has been the source
of much discussion and disagreement. In Hebrew it consists of three verbless
clauses, for which English translation requires a form of the verb “to be.”
What tense is required must be determined by the context. Although the NIV
chose the past tense (following the LXX), indicating that Amos had not been a
prophet until God called him, a present tense may fit the context better. Amos
seems to have been disclaiming professional status as a prophet and denying
that it was his livelihood. Yet he performed the activity of a prophet when God
called him to do so (v. 16). (Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah [The New American Commentary 19B; Nashville: Broadman &
Holman Publishers, 1995], 139)
