Amos 5:16-17

Amos 5:16-17

[16] 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!  and they shall call  the husbandman  to mourning,  and such as are skilful  of lamentation  to wailing.  [17] And in all vineyards  shall be wailing:  for I will pass  through  thee, saith  the LORD. 

What does Amos 5:16-17 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This message concludes by returning to a further description of conditions when Yahweh would judge Israel (cf. Amos 5:1-3). The sovereign Yahweh of armies, Israel"s master, announced wailing in all the open plazas of the Israelite towns and in their streets. There would be many funerals. Everyone would bewail the conditions of divine judgment, not just the professional mourners but even the poor farmers who would have to bury their oppressors. The vineyards, often places of joy and merriment, would be full of mourning, as would the streets. Yahweh promised to pass through the midst of His people, not to bless them but to blast them with punishment. Earlier God had passed through Egypt with similar devastating results (cf. Exodus 11:4-7; Exodus 12:12-13).