Amos 5:21 kjv
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Amos 5:21 nkjv
"I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
Amos 5:21 niv
"I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
Amos 5:21 esv
"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Amos 5:21 nlt
"I hate all your show and pretense ?
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
Amos 5 21 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Amos 5:21 | "I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your feasts I do not sense." | Direct statement of God's rejection |
| Isaiah 1:11-17 | "Away with your flimsy prayers! It's like offering pig's eyes." | Condemns outward piety without inward change |
| Jeremiah 7:21-23 | "I did not command your fathers to offer burnt offerings when I led them out of Egypt." | Emphasizes obedience over ritual alone |
| Hosea 6:6 | "For it is love I want, not sacrifices; knowledge of God, not burnt offerings." | Prioritizes love and knowledge of God |
| Matthew 9:13 | "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'" | Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 |
| Matthew 15:8-9 | "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." | Echoes the sentiment of insincere worship |
| Psalms 50:16-23 | "You do well to condemn the sacrifices of the wicked, the aroma of their feasts." | God despises the worship of the ungodly |
| 1 Samuel 15:22 | "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed the word than the fat of rams." | Samuel rebukes Saul for disobedience |
| Romans 12:1 | "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices." | Call to holistic, living sacrifice |
| Micah 6:8 | "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." | Defines true worship as moral action |
| John 4:23-24 | "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth." | Worship is to be spiritual and genuine |
| Galatians 5:6 | "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." | Emphasizes faith empowered by love |
| 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 | "If I speak with the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." | Love is paramount in all actions |
| Acts 17:24-25 | "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands." | God is transcendent, not contained by ritual |
| Hebrews 10:4 | "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." | Old covenant sacrifices were temporary |
| James 2:14-17 | "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?" | Faith without works is dead |
| Mark 12:33 | "And to love him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." | Greatest commandments encapsulate true worship |
| 1 John 4:20 | "Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." | Love for fellow humans is a sign of love for God |
Amos 5 verses
Amos 5 21 Meaning
This verse powerfully condemns insincere worship. God rejects sacrifices and burnt offerings from those whose hearts are far from Him. The essence of true worship involves obedience and a sincere love for God, not merely performing religious rituals without genuine devotion.
Amos 5 21 Context
Amos 5:21 is part of a powerful prophetic oracle delivered by Amos to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during a period of apparent prosperity but profound spiritual corruption and social injustice. The prophet addresses a people who are outwardly religious, faithfully observing prescribed festivals and offering sacrifices at religious centers like Bethel. However, their worship is divorced from true righteousness and justice. They are oppressing the poor, engaging in corrupt business practices, and living immoral lives. God, through Amos, makes it clear that such hypocrisy is utterly repugnant. The message is a strong condemnation of the ritualism that masks an unrighteous heart and lifestyle, demonstrating that outward observance without inward transformation and ethical living is meaningless to God.
Amos 5 21 Word Analysis
- "I hate," (אָ֫נִי שָׂנֵאתִי, ani saneati): The first person singular imperfect of שָׂנֵא (sene). "Hate" here signifies intense aversion and detestation. It's a strong declaration of God's utter rejection of their current form of worship.
- "I despise" (מָאַסְתִּי, ma’asti): The first person singular perfect of מָאַס (ma’as). It conveys the idea of loathing, rejecting, and casting away with contempt. It intensifies the preceding "hate."
- "your festivals" (חַגֵּיכֶם, chaggeichem): Plural noun from חַג (chag), meaning a festival or feast, especially one observed with religious solemnity. Refers to their annual feasts and celebrations.
- "your feasts" (מוֹעֲדֵיכֶם, mo’adeichem): Plural noun from מוֹעֵד (mo’ed), meaning an appointed time or place, a festival, solemn assembly, or festival season. Encompasses a broader range of religious gatherings.
- "I will not sense" (לֹא אָרִיחַ, lo ariach): From the root רִיחַ (riach), meaning to smell or perceive a fragrance. In this context, it means to find pleasure in, to accept, or to be appeased by the aroma of their sacrifices. Their offerings are not pleasant to God; they carry no acceptable spiritual scent.
Words-group analysis:
- "I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your feasts I will not sense." This phrase is a deliberate pairing of strong negative verbs with specific religious observances. The repetition emphasizes the totality of God's rejection. It highlights that the problem isn't the observance itself, but the state of the worshippers' hearts and lives which render the observances unacceptable.
Amos 5 21 Bonus Section
This verse directly challenges the perceived disconnect between religious ritual and ethical behavior, a common theme throughout the Old Testament prophets. It emphasizes that God’s covenant relationship with Israel was predicated on obedience and justice, not merely ritual performance. The prosperity that Israel experienced at this time ironically masked a deep spiritual decay, leading them to believe their offerings could atone for or even permit their continued sin. This warning has timeless relevance, reminding believers that genuine faith must manifest in actions of love and justice, lest their worship become an offense to the very God they claim to honor.
Amos 5 21 Commentary
Amos 5:21 delivers a searing indictment against hollow religiosity. God’s demand is for worship that is inseparable from justice and righteousness. Their meticulously observed festivals and feasts are seen by God as utterly empty and offensive because they are performed by people who exploit the poor, embrace immorality, and lack genuine devotion. The prophetic message warns that outward religious activity without an inward transformation and a life lived in obedience to God’s commands for justice and mercy is not only ineffective but also abhorrent to Him. True worship engages the whole person—heart, mind, soul, and actions—demonstrating love for God through love and justice for neighbor.