Amos 8:10

And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day.

And I will turn {H2015} your feasts {H2282} into mourning {H60}, and all your songs {H7892} into lamentation {H7015}; and I will bring up {H5927} sackcloth {H8242} upon all loins {H4975}, and baldness {H7144} upon every head {H7218}; and I will make {H7760} it as the mourning {H60} of an only {H3173} son, and the end {H319} thereof as a bitter {H4751} day {H3117}.

I will turn your festivals into mourning and all your songs into wailing; I will make you all put sackcloth around your waists and shave your heads bald in grief. I will make it like mourning for an only son and its end like a bitter day.

I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

Amos 8:10 delivers a powerful and somber prophecy from the Lord concerning the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It foretells a drastic reversal of their national condition: their joyous festivals and celebrations will be transformed into deep mourning and lamentation. The imagery of sackcloth and baldness signifies profound grief and humiliation, culminating in a sorrow as intense as that felt for the loss of an only child, making the day intensely bitter.

Context

The prophet Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa, was sent by God to pronounce judgment against Israel during a period of relative prosperity but profound moral and spiritual decay. Chapter 8 specifically condemns their greed, deceitful business practices (Amos 8:4), and oppression of the poor. This verse serves as a direct consequence of their systemic injustice and hypocrisy, indicating that God's patience had run out. The coming judgment is described as sudden and overwhelming, like the sun setting at noon (Amos 8:9), leading to the profound sorrow detailed in verse 10.

Key Themes

  • Divine Retribution: God's just response to Israel's unrighteousness and exploitation of the vulnerable.
  • Reversal of Fortune: The turning of celebration (feasts, songs) into extreme sorrow (mourning, lamentation), highlighting the temporary nature of earthly prosperity when not founded on righteousness.
  • Profound Grief: The description of mourning as for "an only son" emphasizes the unparalleled depth and universality of the coming national tragedy.
  • Consequences of Sin: A clear warning that persistent sin, particularly social injustice and religious hypocrisy, inevitably leads to severe divine judgment.

Linguistic Insights

  • The Hebrew word for "feasts," chaggim (חַגִּים), refers to religious festivals, which were meant to be times of joyous worship and thanksgiving to God. Their transformation into mourning underscores the corruption of their religious life.
  • "Lamentation" (qinah, קִינָה) denotes a dirge or mournful song, often associated with funerals.
  • "Sackcloth" (saq, שַׂק) and "baldness" (korḥah, קָרְחָה) were common ancient Near Eastern customs for expressing intense grief, humiliation, and repentance, often involving shaving the head or tearing hair and wearing coarse cloth.
  • The phrase "mourning of an only son" (אֵבֶל יָחִיד - evel yachid) signifies the most severe and inconsolable grief imaginable in ancient Israelite culture. This imagery is also found in Jeremiah 6:26.

Practical Application

Amos 8:10 serves as a timeless reminder that God is a God of justice who cares deeply about how His people treat one another, especially the marginalized. It challenges us to examine our own lives and societies for hypocrisy, greed, and injustice. True worship involves not only outward religious observances but also a commitment to righteousness and compassion, as highlighted in Micah 6:8. This verse warns that spiritual complacency and moral decay can lead to severe consequences, turning times of joy into sorrow. It calls for genuine repentance and a return to God's standards of justice and righteousness.

Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Jeremiah 6:26

    O daughter of my people, gird [thee] with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, [as for] an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

  • Zechariah 12:10

    And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

  • Job 20:23

    ¶ [When] he is about to fill his belly, [God] shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain [it] upon him while he is eating.

  • Jeremiah 48:37

    For every head [shall be] bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands [shall be] cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

  • Ezekiel 7:18

    They shall also gird [themselves] with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame [shall be] upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

  • Luke 7:12

    Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

  • Luke 7:13

    And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

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