Amos 5:16 Meaning and Explanation
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →God foretells a day of universal grief, wailing in every street and professional mourners called to lament.
What Does Amos 5:16 Mean?
The prophet returns to the theme of mourning. In the coming day, grief will fill every street and roadway, with cries of "Alas! alas!" Even farmers will be summoned from their fields to mourn, and the professional mourners, skilled in lamentation, will be called to wail.
The picture is of sorrow so vast that the whole society is given over to grief. This is what comes when warnings go unheeded. Yet the very vividness of the coming lament is meant to move the hearers to repentance before it arrives. God describes the funeral in advance so the death might be averted. The verse presses upon the reader the seriousness of the choice still open, and the depth of the sorrow that hardness of heart will bring.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amos 5:16
What does Amos 5:16 mean?
God foretells a day of universal grief, wailing in every street and professional mourners called to lament.