Amos 8:10
in Amos 8I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Amos 8
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus LactantiusEPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES 4:19 · Written before 325.
Suspended, then, and fastened to his cross Christ cried out to God the Father in a loud voice and willingly laid down his life. In that same hour there was an earthquake, and the veil of the temple that separated the two tabernacles was cut in two, and the sun was suddenly withdrawn, and from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness. The prophet Amos bears witness to this. "And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, that the sun shall go down at midday, and the day shall be darkened of light.
This site's exposition
the sun go down at noon
on Amos 8:9-10
The words "I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime" picture a nation's sudden ruin. It is the language of the Day of the LORD in the Twelve. Some older writers point to the total solar eclipse of 763 BC.
This site's exposition
like a time of mourning for an only son
John Wesley notes that shaving the head was a sign of the greatest sadness, and that a bitter day would follow the dark night. Lactantius read the darkness of this passage as fulfilled at the cross, when the sun was withdrawn from the sixth hour to the ninth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NeocaesareaON THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY 2 · Written before 270.
proposed
Let us keep [the Feast of Annunciation] with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. From ancient times Israel kept their festival, but then it was with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, of which the prophet says, "I will turn their feasts into afflictions and lamentation …
(Verse 9, 10.) And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord (Vulgate adds God): The sun will be darkened at noon, and I will make the earth go dark in the midst of light. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation. I will bring sackcloth upon every waist, and baldness upon every head. I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Upon all loins - All sorts of persons shall put on mourning. Baldness - Shaving the head and beard was a sign of the greatest sadness. A bitter day - A bitter day, which you shall wish you had never seen, shall succeed your dark night.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I will turn your feasts into mourning - He recurs to the sentence which he had pronounced Amo 8:3, before he described the avarice and oppression which brought it down. Hosea too had foretold, “I will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast-days, etc” Hos 2:11. So Jeremiah describes, “the joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning” Lam 5:15. The Book of Tobit bears witness how these sayings of Amos lived in the hearts of the captive Israelites.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
baldness--a sign of mourning (Isa 15:2; I will make it as . . . mourning of an only son--"it," that is, "the earth" (Am 8:9). I will reduce the land to such a state that there shall be the same occasion for mourning as when parents mourn for an only son (Jer 6:26;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
I will turn your feasts into mourning - See on Amo 8:3 (note). A bitter day - A time of grievous calamity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And I will turn your festivals into mourning —as the matter is stated: (II Chron:24) “And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָפַכְתִּ֨י | vehafakhti | and I will turn | H2015 → | 94 times |
| חַגֵּיכֶ֜ם | chageikhem | feasts your | H2282 → | |
| לְאֵ֗בֶל | leevel | into mourning | H60 → | 24 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שִֽׁירֵיכֶם֙ | shireikhem | songs your | H7892 → | 59 times |
| לְקִינָ֔ה | lekinah | into lamentation | H7015 → | |
| וְהַעֲלֵיתִ֤י | vehaaleiti | and I will bring up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מָתְנַ֙יִם֙ | matenayim | loins | H4975 → | |
| שָׂ֔ק | sak | sackcloth | H8242 → | |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רֹ֖אשׁ | rosh | head | H7218 → | 599 times |
| קָרְחָ֑ה | karechah | baldness | H7144 → | |
| וְשַׂמְתִּ֙יהָ֙ | vesamtiha | and I will make it | H7760 → | 584 times |
| כְּאֵ֣בֶל | keevel | like [the] mourning of | H60 → | 24 times |
| יָחִ֔יד | yachid | an only [son] | H3173 → | |
| וְאַחֲרִיתָ֖הּ | veacharitah | and end its | H319 → | 61 times |
| כְּי֥וֹם | keyom | [will be] like a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מָֽר׃ | mar | bitter | H4751 → |
וְהָפַכְתִּ֨יand I will turn
vehafakhtiH2015 →94 times
חַגֵּיכֶ֜םfeasts your
chageikhemH2282 →
לְאֵ֗בֶלinto mourning
leevelH60 →24 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
שִֽׁירֵיכֶם֙songs your
shireikhemH7892 →59 times
לְקִינָ֔הinto lamentation
lekinahH7015 →
וְהַעֲלֵיתִ֤יand I will bring up
vehaaleitiH5927 →890 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מָתְנַ֙יִם֙loins
matenayimH4975 →
שָׂ֔קsackcloth
sakH8242 →
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
רֹ֖אשׁhead
roshH7218 →599 times
קָרְחָ֑הbaldness
karechahH7144 →
וְשַׂמְתִּ֙יהָ֙and I will make it
vesamtihaH7760 →584 times
כְּאֵ֣בֶלlike [the] mourning of
keevelH60 →24 times
יָחִ֔ידan only [son]
yachidH3173 →
וְאַחֲרִיתָ֖הּand end its
veacharitahH319 →61 times
כְּי֥וֹם[will be] like a day
keyomH3117 →2304 times
מָֽר׃bitter
marH4751 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
it leads to
- Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
- Ezekiel 39:29
And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
- John 19:34–37
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
- Joel 2:28–29
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
- Jeremiah 6:26
O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- Revelation 1:7
Through
Ezekiel 7:18They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
it leads to
- Isaiah 15:2–3
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 15:2–3
Through
Job 20:23When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:30–31
Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
- Numbers 11:33
But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.
- Psalms 78:30–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Amos
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Gregory of Neocaesarea, ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, EPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES 4:19.