Amos 5:21-26

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Amos 5:21-27

The scope of these verses is to show how little God valued their shows of devotion, nay, how much he detested them, while they went on in their sins. Observe, I. How unpleasing, nay, how displeasing, their hypocritical services were to God. They had their feast-days at Bethel, in imitation of those at Jerusalem, in which they pretended to rejoice before God. They had their solemn assemblies for religious worship, in which they put on the gravity of those who come before God as his people come,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:21

I hate, I despise your feast days ,.... Kimchi thinks this is said, and what follows, with respect to the kingdom of the house of Judah, which kept the feast the Lord commanded; but it is not necessary so to understand it; for doubtless the ten tribes imitated the worship at Jerusalem, and kept the feasts as the Jews did there, in the observance of which they trusted; but the Lord rejects their vain confidence, and lets them know that these were no ways acceptable to him; and were so far... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:22

Though ye offer me burnt offerings, and your meat offerings, I will not accept them ,.... The daily burnt offerings, morning and night, and others which were wholly the Lord's; and the "minchah", or bread offering, which went along with them; in which they thought to do God service, and to merit his favour; but instead of that they were unacceptable to him, being neither offered up in a proper place, if in a right manner according to the law of Moses; however, not in the faith of the great... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:23

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs ,.... The ten tribes, very probably, imitated the, temple music at Jerusalem, both vocal and instrumental, and had their songs and hymns of praise, which they sung to certain tunes; but the music of these is called a noise, being very disagreeable to the Lord, as coming from such carnal and wicked persons; and therefore he desires it might cease, be took away, and he be no more troubled with it: for I will not hear the melody of thy viols :... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:24

But let judgments run down as waters ,.... Or "roll" F15 ויגל "volvatur", Munster, Mercerus, Liveleus, Drusius; "volvat se", Montanus, Vatablus; "revolvet se", Piscator; "provolvatur", Cocceius. ; in abundance, with great rapidity, bearing down all before them, which nothing can resist; signifying the plenty of justice done in the land, the full and free exercise of it, without any stoppage or intermission: and righteousness as a mighty stream ; the same thing expressed in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:25

Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings ,.... No; they were not offered to God, but to devils, to the golden calf, and to the host of heaven: so their fathers did in the wilderness forty years ; where sacrifices were omitted during that time, a round number for a broken one, it being about thirty eight years; and these their children were imitators of them, and offered sacrifice to idols too, and therefore deserved punishment as they: even ye, O house of Israel ? the ten... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:26

But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Mo ,.... The god of the Ammonites; See Gill on Amos 1:13 ; and See Gill on Jeremiah 7:31 ; called theirs, because they also worshipped it, and caused their seed to pass through the fire to it; and which was carried by them in a shrine, or portable tent or chapel. Or it may be rendered, "but ye have borne Siccuth your king" F16 סכות מלככם "Siccuth regem vestrum", Munster, Montanus, Vatablus, Calvin, Mercerus. ; and so Siccuth may be taken... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 5:21

I hate, I despise your feast days - I abominate those sacrificial festivals where there is no piety, and I despise them because they pretend to be what they are not. This may refer to the three annual festivals which were still observed in a certain way among the Israelites. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 5:22

The peace-offerings of your fat beasts - מריאיכם merieychem probably means buffaloes; and so Bochart. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 5:23

The noise of thy songs - the melody of thy viols - They had both vocal and instrumental music in those sacrificial festivals; and God hated the noise of the one and shut his ears against the melody of the other. In the first there was nothing but noise, because their hearts were not right with God; and in the latter there could be nothing but ( זמרת zimrath ) cutting and scraping, because there was no heart - no religious sense in the thing, and nearly as little in them that used it. See... read more

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