Amos 5:16

Therefore Yahweh, the God of Armies, the Lord, says: “Wailing will be in all the wide ways; and they will say in all the streets, ‘Alas! Alas!’ and they will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

Therefore the LORD, the God of Armies, the Lord, says: “Wailing will be in all the wide ways. They will say in all the streets, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skilful in lamentation to wailing.

BSB

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.

KJV

Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

ASV

Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all the broad ways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful in lamentation to wailing.

BBE

So these are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the Lord: There will be weeping in all the open spaces; and in all the streets they will say, Sorrow! sorrow! and they will get in the farmer to the weeping, and the makers of sad songs to give cries of grief.

Original Hebrew

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לָכֵן la·khen (to) therefore H3651 כֹּה־ koh- thus H3541 אָמַר 'a·mar he says H559 יְהוָה yah·weh Yahweh H3068 אֱלֹהֵי 'e·lo·hei God of H430 צְבָאוֹת tze·va·'ot hosts H6635 אֲדֹנָי 'a·do·nai [the] Lord H136 בְּכָל־ be·khol [will be] in all H3605 רְחֹבוֹת re·cho·vot [the] open places H7339 מִסְפֵּד mis·ped wailing H4553 וּבְכָל־ u·ve·khol- and in all H3605 חוּצוֹת chu·tzot [the] streets H2351 יֹאמְרוּ yo·me·ru people will say H559 הוֹ־ hov- alas H1930 הוֹ ho alas H1930 וְקָרְאוּ ve·ka·re·'u and people will call H7121 אִכָּר 'i·kar a farmer H406 אֶל־ 'el- to H413 אֵבֶל 'e·vel mourning H60 וּמִסְפֵּד u·mis·ped and wailing H4553 אֶל־ 'el- to H413 יוֹדְעֵי yod·'ei [those who] know H3045 נֶהִי ne·hi (of) lamentation H5092

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 7–17

The same almighty power can, for repenting sinners, easily turn affliction and sorrow into prosperity and joy, and as easily turn the prosperity of daring sinners into utter darkness. Evil times will not bear plain dealing; that is, evil men will not. And these men were evil men indeed, when wise and good men thought it in vain even to speak to them. Those who will seek and love that which is good, may help to save the land from ruin. It behoves us to plead God's spiritual promises, to beseech him to create in us a clean heart, and to renew a right spirit within us. The Lord is ever ready to be gracious to the souls that seek him; and then piety and every duty will be attended to. But as for sinful Israel, God's judgments had often passed by them, now they shall pass through them.

Read Matthew Henry on Amos 5 →

Cross-references

19

Topics

JudgmentsFamineWeeping

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.