Amos 5:23 (DBY)

Passage

Take away from me the noise of thy songs, and I will not hear the melody of thy lutes;

Nearby Context

Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will not smell [a sweet odour] in your solemn assemblies.

Amos 5:22 For if ye offer up unto me burnt-offerings and your oblations, I will not accept [them]; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fatted beasts.

Amos 5:23 Take away from me the noise of thy songs, and I will not hear the melody of thy lutes;

Amos 5:24 but let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness as an ever-flowing stream.

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

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "For if ye offer up unto me..." into verse 24's "but let judgment roll down as waters...", so "take" and "away" 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 "away" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.