Amos 5:23
New International Version
Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

New Living Translation
Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

English Standard Version
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.

Berean Standard Bible
Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

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

New King James Version
Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.

New American Standard Bible
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

NASB 1995
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

NASB 1977
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Legacy Standard Bible
Remove from Me the tumult of your songs; I will not even listen to the melody of your harps.

Amplified Bible
“Take the noise of your songs away from Me [they are an irritation]! I shall not even listen to the melody of your harps.

Christian Standard Bible
Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

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

Contemporary English Version
No more of your noisy songs! I won't listen when you play your harps.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Spare me the sound of your songs. I won't listen to the music of your harps.

Good News Translation
Stop your noisy songs; I do not want to listen to your harps.

International Standard Version
Spare me your noisy singing— I will not listen to your musical instruments.

Majority Standard Bible
Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

NET Bible
Take away from me your noisy songs; I don't want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.

New Heart English Bible
Take away from me the noise of your songs. I will not listen to the music of your harps.

Webster's Bible Translation
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

World English Bible
Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Turn the noise of your songs aside from Me, "" Indeed, I do not hear the praise of your stringed instruments.

Young's Literal Translation
Turn aside from Me the noise of thy songs, Yea, the praise of thy psaltery I hear not.

Smith's Literal Translation
Remove from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the music of thy lyres.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Take away from me the tumult of thy songs: and I will not hear the canticles of thy harp.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Take away from me the tumult of your songs, and I will not listen to the canticles of your lyre.

New American Bible
Take away from me your noisy songs; The melodies of your harps, I will not listen to them.

New Revised Standard Version
Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Take away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your harps.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Remove from me the sound of your singing and the music of your harp; I shall not hear them again
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; And let Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Remove from me the sound of thy songs, and I will not hear the music of thine instruments.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Day of the LORD
22Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard. 23Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.…

Cross References
Isaiah 1:11-15
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. / When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts? / Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ...

Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? / Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? / He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Jeremiah 6:20
What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”

Psalm 51:16-17
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. / The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 66:3-4
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations. / So I will choose their punishment and I will bring terror upon them, because I called and no one answered, I spoke and no one listened. But they did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”

Matthew 9:13
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:7
If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Mark 7:6-7
Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. / They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Isaiah 58:1-7
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. / For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.” / “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. ...

Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Hebrews 10:5-8
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. / In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight. / Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’” ...


Treasury of Scripture

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

the noise.

Amos 6:5
That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

Amos 8:3,10
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…

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Amos 5
1. A lamentation for Israel.
4. An exhortation to repentance.
21. God rejects their hypocritical service.














Take away from Me
This phrase indicates a divine command from God, expressing His desire for the removal of something displeasing. The Hebrew root for "take away" is "סוּר" (sur), which means to turn aside or remove. This reflects God's active rejection of certain practices. Historically, this is a call to the Israelites to cease their insincere worship practices. God desires genuine devotion rather than empty rituals.

the noise of your songs
The term "noise" here is significant. In Hebrew, "הָמוֹן" (hamon) can mean a tumult or uproar, suggesting that what the Israelites considered worship was, to God, mere clamor. This highlights the disconnect between human perception and divine reality. The songs, though possibly beautiful in melody, lacked the sincerity and righteousness that God requires. This serves as a reminder that worship must be heartfelt and aligned with God's will.

I will not listen
This phrase underscores God's refusal to accept worship that is not genuine. The Hebrew verb "שָׁמַע" (shama) means to hear or listen, but in this context, it conveys a deliberate choice not to heed. This is a powerful statement about the nature of divine attention; God is not obligated to listen to worship that is not offered in spirit and truth. It challenges believers to examine the authenticity of their worship.

to the music of your harps
Harps were common instruments in ancient Israelite worship, often associated with joy and celebration. However, the mention of "harps" here, in conjunction with God's refusal to listen, suggests that even the most beautiful music is meaningless without true devotion. The historical context reveals that music was integral to worship, yet God prioritizes the heart's condition over musical expression. This calls believers to ensure that their worship, whether through music or other forms, is sincere and pleasing to God.

(23) Songs.--The very sound of their tumultuous songs was a burden to Jehovah. As Christ cleansed the Temple, so would He dispel all this hypocritical and perilous confusion of ideas.

Verse 23. - The noise of thy songs. Their psalms and hymns of praise were mere noise in God's ear, and wearied him (Isaiah 1:14; Isaiah 24:8; Ezekiel 26:13). Viols (Amos 6:5); ὀργάνων (Septuagint). The nebel, usually translated "psaltery," was a kind of harp. Josephus ('Ant.,' 7:12. 3) describes it as having twelve strings, played by the fingers. Music, both instrumental and vocal, was used in the temple worship (see 1 Chronicles 16:42; 1 Chronicles 23:5; and 25.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Take away
הָסֵ֥ר (hā·sêr)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

from Me
מֵעָלַ֖י (mê·‘ā·lay)
Preposition-m | first person common singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the noise
הֲמ֣וֹן (hă·mō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1995: A noise, tumult, crowd, disquietude, wealth

of your songs!
שִׁרֶ֑יךָ (ši·re·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 7892: A song, singing

I will not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

listen
אֶשְׁמָֽע׃ (’eš·mā‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

to the music
וְזִמְרַ֥ת (wə·zim·raṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2172: Melody, song (in praise of Yah)

of your harps.
נְבָלֶ֖יךָ (nə·ḇā·le·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5035: A skin-bag for, liquids, a vase, a lyre


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OT Prophets: Amos 5:23 Take away from me the noise (Amo. Am)
Amos 5:22
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