I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

AMOS 5:21KJV
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Amos 5:21 (KJV)

What does Amos 5:21 mean?

Amos 5:21 describes God declaring that He hates and despises the feast days and will not accept the offerings or gatherings of the people. The verse shows that God rejects their religious ceremonies because something is deeply wrong with how they are being practiced.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Amos to the people of Israel. The people are still holding religious festivals and assemblies, but God says He wants nothing to do with them. The context is that their outward worship is not matched by justice or genuine devotion, so their rituals are empty in His eyes.

The Hebrew behind Amos 5:21

  • "hate" (שָׂנֵא, śānē’): This word means a strong rejection or loathing. God is not just mildly displeased; He is expressing total rejection of their religious events.
  • "despise" (מָאַס, mā’as): This word adds another layer, meaning to treat as worthless or to reject with contempt. God is saying their ceremonies have no value to Him.
  • "days" (חַג, ḥāg): This refers to the special feast days or festivals that were important in Israel’s religious calendar. God’s rejection of these shows that even the most sacred traditions mean nothing if the people’s hearts are not right.
  • "smell" (רֵיחַ, rēaḥ): This word is often used for the pleasing aroma of sacrifices. God says He will not "smell" or accept their offerings, meaning He will not be pleased by their worship.
  • "assemblies" (עֲצָרָה, ‘ăṣārāh): This refers to the formal gatherings for worship. God’s refusal to attend these assemblies shows that the problem is not with the rituals themselves, but with the people’s attitude and actions.

Why Amos 5:21 matters

  • Amos 5:21 clears up the misunderstanding that religious rituals alone are enough to please God; the verse shows that God cares about the heart and justice, not just outward ceremonies.
  • The verse emphasizes that God can reject even the most sacred traditions if they are not matched by genuine faithfulness and right living.
  • Amos 5:21 connects to the wider message of Amos, where God calls for justice and righteousness rather than empty ritual, highlighting the importance of integrity in worship.

Where else these words appear

“smell” Hebrew H7306 · used in 11 verses

  • Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
  • Leviticus 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
  • 1 Samuel 26:19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

“assemblies” Hebrew H6116 · used in 11 verses

  • Leviticus 23:36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
  • 2 Kings 10:20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
  • Isaiah 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

“days” Hebrew H2282 · used in 55 verses

  • Exodus 10:9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.
  • Deuteronomy 16:14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
  • Nehemiah 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

“despise” Hebrew H3988 · used in 69 verses

  • Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
  • Job 30:1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
  • Isaiah 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;