Amos 8:3

3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.^[a] Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!”

Amos 8:3 in Other Translations

3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

3 The songs of the templeshall become wailings in that day," declares the Lord GOD. "So many dead bodies!" "They are thrown everywhere!" "Silence!"

3 In that day the singing in the Temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

3 "The royal singers will wail when it happens." My Master God said so. "Corpses will be strewn here, there, and everywhere. Hush!"

3 In that day the temple songs will become wailing"-the Lord God 's declaration. "Many dead bodies, thrown everywhere! Silence!"

Amos 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 8:3

And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day,
saith the Lord God
Not the songs sung by the Levites in the temple of Jerusalem, this prophecy respects the ten tribes only; but those in imitation of them, sung in the temple at Bethel, and other idol temples; or profane songs in the palaces of princes and nobles; that is, instead of these, there should be howlings for the calamities come upon them. So the Targum,

``they shall howl, instead of a song, in their houses then;''

particularly because of the slain in them, as follows; see ( Amos 5:23 ) ; [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place;
in all houses and palaces, in all towns and cities; and especially in Samaria, during the siege, and when taken, partly through the famine, and partly through the sword: they shall cast [them] forth with silence;
they that have the care of burying the dead bodies shall either cast them out of the houses upon the bier or cart in which they are carried to the grave, or into the pit or grave without any funeral lamentation: or, "they shall cast them forth", and say, "be silent"; that is, as Kimchi explains it,

``one of them that casts them forth shall say to his companion, be silent;''

say not one word against God and his providence, since this is righteously come upon us; or say nothing of the number of the dead, lest the hearts of those that hear should become tender, and be discouraged, as Aben Ezra; or the enemy should be encouraged to go on with the siege.

Amos 8:3 In-Context

1 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit.

2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the LORD said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!”

4 Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,

5 saying, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”— skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales,

Cross References

• 1. S Amos 5:16
• 2. Amos 5:23; Amos 6:10

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "“the temple singers will wail"