I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in (Hebrew: I cannot smell) your solemn assemblies (Hebrew: your assemblies)/The LORD says, “I hate your religious festivals; I cannot stand them”. Although the Hebrew does not say so directly, the LORD is now speaking and this must be expressed in translation in many languages, especially since Amos is the speaker in the preceding section (verses 18-20).

In Hebrew, when there is a sequence of two verbs (I hate, I despise) without a word relating them, only one event is meant, so Good News Translation uses only one verb I hate, and this will be necessary in many other languages. But the Hebrew repetition is very forceful and produces an emphasis which is important to the whole section. If repetition is not sufficient the translation should have a strong word for hate or should qualify the verb in some way.

Hate. There may be a problem in choosing the right word. In verse 10 the same verb was used of hating a person, which is no problem. But here it is not a person who is being hated, and in many languages it is not possible to use the same word. The translation should be something which means dislike of what people do. There may even be a lively expression like “feel the shudder of repugnance (which runs down one’s spine) at something disgusting.” Or, to use an English idiom which may not be translatable either: “Your feasts make me sick!”

Originally, “smell” was used literally when it was said that the LORD smelled sacrifices (with pleasure) (Gen 8.21; Lev 26.31; 1 Sam 26.19). Here it is clearly used as a picture. If the translator cannot keep the picture with the same meaning or replace it by a similar one, he will have to say something like I cannot stand, “I cannot bear/tolerate.”

Feasts and assemblies. The two words mean about the same thing here. Good News Translation therefore uses only one term, religious festivals. It is necessary to say religious in cultures where there is a distinction between those feasts which are religious and those which are not. In other cultures feasts are normally religious and there is no need to add the information, especially since the context shows that these feasts are of a religious character.

The translator should choose strong terms or restructure the sentence so that it is as forceful as possible. Repetition or use of synonyms often leads to forcefulness in modern languages, as it does in Hebrew. One possibility in English (not Good News Translation style) would be “I loathe your religious festivals, and your pious meetings make me sick!”

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .