Amos 5:16 — Meaning and Application

King James Version

“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.”

Amos 5:16

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Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

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.

And in all vineyards {shall be} wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end {is} it for you? the day of the LORD {is} darkness, and not light.

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From This Chapter

Amos 5:1

"Hear ye this word which I take up against you, {even} a lamentation, O house of Israel."

Amos 5:2

"The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; {there is} none to raise her up."

Amos 5:3

"For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out {by} a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth {by} an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel."

Amos 5:4

"For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:"

Amos 5:5

"But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought."

Amos 5:6

"Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour {it}, and {there be} none to quench {it} in Bethel."

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