Amos 5:23 (ASV)

Passage

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

Amos 5:22 Yea, though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.

Amos 5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

Amos 5:24 But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Amos 5:25 Did ye bring unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "take", "thou", "away", "noise", "songs", "hear", "melody", and "viols". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "take" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Yea though ye offer me your burnt-offerings..." into verse 24's "But let justice roll down as waters...", so "take" and "thou" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "take" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.