Amos 5:21

The context

Amos prophesied in the northern kingdom during a period of prosperity, and his oracles target the gap between wealth and justice. Chapter 5 opens with a lament and a call to seek the Lord, then turns to the shrines at Bethel and Gilgal. Verses 21-24 reject the festivals and demand that justice roll down.

What it establishes

It establishes that the prophetic critique of worship is not a preference for private religion but a demand for justice in public life. The language is first-person and vehement: hate, despise, take no delight. The following verse names the noise of songs as unwelcome.

What it does not establish

It does not establish that all liturgy is rejected. Amos is not proposing that Israel stop worshiping; he is saying that worship without justice is not received. Nor does the passage say the feasts were unauthorized; the objection is to the lives of those who brought them.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• The Old Testament commanded animal sacrifices. Isn’t that evil — and how could a good God require it?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.