Amos 5:21 (WEB)

Passage

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:19 As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.

Amos 5:20 Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies.

Amos 5:22 Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.

Amos 5:23 Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hate", "despise", "feasts", "stand", "solemn", and "assemblies". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hate" and "despise", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Won t the day of Yahweh be..." into verse 22's "Yes though you offer me your burnt...", so "hate" and "despise" 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 "hate" and "despise" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.