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General Information:
Amos uses two rhetorical questions to draw attention to the rebuke that follows.
Do horses run on the rocky cliffs?
It is impossible for a horse to run on rocky cliffs without getting hurt. Amos uses this rhetorical question to rebuke them for their actions. AT: "Horses do not run on rocky cliffs." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)
Does one plow there with oxen?
One does not plow on rocky ground. Amos uses this rhetorical question to rebuke them for their actions. AT: "A person does not plow with oxen on rocky ground." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)
Yet you have turned justice into poison
Distorting what is just is spoken of as if the leaders "turned justice into poison." AT: "Yet you distort what is just" or "But you make laws that hurt innocent people" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
the fruit of righteousness into bitterness
This means basically the same thing as the first part of the sentence. Distorting what is right is spoken of as if righteousness were a sweet fruit that the people made bitter tasting. AT: "you distort what is right" or "you punish those who do what is right" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
Lo Debar ... Karnaim
These are names of towns. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names)
Have we not taken Karnaim by our own strength?
The people use a question to emphasize that they believe they captured a city because of their own power. AT: "We captured Karnaim by our own power!" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)