Amos 8 · Verse 3

Amos 8:3

And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
Amos 8:3, King James Version

Amos 8:3 in other translations

BSB“In that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “the songs of the temple will turn to wailing. Many will be the corpses, strewn in silence everywhere!”
WEBThe songs of the temple will be wailing in that day,” says the Lord GOD. “The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw them out with silence.
ASVAnd the songs of the temple shall be wailings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah: the dead bodies shall be many; in every place shall they cast them forth with silence.
YLTAnd howled have songstresses of a palace in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Many are the carcases, into any place throw--hush!
DARBYAnd the songs of the palace shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah. The dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast forth. Silence!
BBEAnd the songs of the king's house will be cries of pain in that day, says the Lord God: great will be the number of the dead bodies, and everywhere they will put them out without a word.
WebsterAnd the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

What does Amos 8:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. songs of ... temple--(Am 5:23). The joyous hymns in the temple of Judah (or rather, in the Beth-el "royal temple," Am 7:13; for the allusion is to Israel, not Judah, throughout this chapter) shall be changed into "howlings." Grotius translates, "palace"; compare Am 6:5, as to the songs there. But Am 5:23, and Am 7:13, favor English Version. they shall cast them forth with silence--not as the Margin, "be silent." It is an adverb, "silently." There shall be such great slaughter as even to prevent the bodies being buried [Calvin]. There shall be none of the usual professional mourners (Am 5:16), but the bodies will be cast out in silence. Perhaps also is meant that terror, both of God (compare Am 6:10) and of the foe, shall close their lips.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 The songs of the temple - Instead of שירות shiroth, songs, Houbigant reads שורות shoroth, the singing women; and Newcome follows him: "And the singing women of the palace shall howl in that day." Instead of joyous songs, they shall have nothing but lamentation. They shall cast them forth with silence - Every place shall be filled with the dead, and a dreadful silence shall reign universally; the few that remain being afraid either to speak or complain, or even to chant a funeral dirge for the most respectable of the dead.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Amos 8:1-3

Amos saw a basket of summer fruit gathered, and ready to be eaten; which signified, that the people were ripe for destruction, that the year of God's patience was drawing towards a conclusion. Such summer fruits will not keep till winter, but must be used at once. Yet these judgments shall not draw from them any acknowledgement, either of God's righteousness or their own unrighteousness. Sinners put off repentance…

Read the full comment on Amos 8:1-3 →

Amos 8:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהֵילִ֜ילוּve.hei.Li.luand they will wailH3213
שִׁיר֤וֹתshi.Rotsongs ofH7892
הֵיכָל֙hei.Khal[the] templeH1964
בַּיּ֣וֹםbai.Yomon the dayH3117
הַה֔וּאha.Hu'<the> thatH1931
נְאֻ֖םne.'Um[the] utterance ofH5002
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3069
רַ֣בravmanyH7227
הַפֶּ֔גֶרha.Pe.gerthe corpse[s]H6297
בְּכָל\־be.kholin everyH3605
מָק֖וֹםma.KomplaceH4725
הִשְׁלִ֥יךְhish.Likhsomeone will throwH7993
הָֽס\׃\ \פHashush!H2013

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Amos 8:3

  • Amos 5:23

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

  • Amos 6:9-10

    And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 9:21-22

    For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.

  • Amos 5:16

    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! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

  • Leviticus 10:3

    Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

  • Amos 8:10

    And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

  • Isaiah 37:36

    Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

  • Zechariah 11:1-3

    Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

  • Jeremiah 22:18

    Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

  • Psalms 39:9

    I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.

  • Joel 1:5

    Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

  • Hosea 10:5-6

    The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth–aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the songs.
10; 5:23; Ho 10:5,6; Joe 1:5,11,13; Zec 11:1-3
shall be howlings. Heb. shall howl. many.
4:10; Isa 37:36; Jer 9:21,22; Na 3:3
they shall.
6:9,10; Jer 22:18
with silence. Heb. be silent.
Le 10:3; Ps 39:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Amos 8:2

    And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

  • Amos 8:3

    And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

  • Amos 8:4

    Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Read all of Amos 8

Amos 8:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y los cantores del templo aullarán en aquel día, dice el Señor Jehová; muchos serán los cuerpos muertos; en todo lugar echados serán en silencio.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et, en ce jour-là, les cantiques du palais seront des hurlements, dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel. Les cadavres seront en grand nombre; en tout lieu on les jettera dehors… Silence!
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und die Gesänge des Palastes werden sich in Geheul verwandeln an jenem Tage, spricht der Herr, Jehova. Leichen in Menge, aller Orten hat er sie hingeworfen Still!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et stridebunt cardines templi in die illa, dicit Dominus Deus: multi morientur; in omni loco projicietur silentium.