Amo 5:16 | NET2full | STEP | Because of Israel’s sins this is what the Lord , the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies , says : “In all the squares there will be wailing ; in all the streets they will mourn the dead . They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail .

‏ Amos 5:16

16 Because of Israel’s sins ^{▼▼tn Heb “Therefore.” This logical connector relates back to the accusation of vv. 10-13, not to the parenthetical call to repentance in vv. 14-15. To indicate this clearly, the phrase “Because of Israel’s sins” is used in the translation.} this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, ^{▼▼tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).} says:
“In all the squares there will be wailing;
in all the streets they will mourn the dead. ^{▼▼tn Heb “they will say, ‘Ah! Ah!’” The Hebrew term הוֹ (ho, “ah, woe”) is an alternate form of הוֹי (hoy), a word used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow. See 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5. This wordplay follows quickly, as v. 18 begins with הוֹי (“woe”).}
They will tell the field workers ^{▼▼tn Or “farmers” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).} to lament
and the professional mourners ^{▼▼tn Heb “those who know lamentation.”} ^{▼▼sn Professional mourners are referred to elsewhere in the OT (2 Chr 35:25; Jer 9:17) and ancient Near Eastern literature. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 180.} to wail.