Psalms 30:11

30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. ¹ 

Amos 6:4-7

6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ² 

and sprawl out on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the middle of the pen.

6:5 They sing ³  to the tune of ⁴  stringed instruments; ⁵ 

like David they invent ⁶  musical instruments.

6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ⁷ 

and pour the very best oils on themselves. ⁸ 

Yet they are not concerned over ⁹  the ruin ¹⁰  of Joseph.

6:7 Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, ¹¹ 

and the religious banquets ¹²  where they sprawl on couches ¹³  will end.

Amos 8:10

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹⁴ 

and all your songs into funeral dirges.

I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ¹⁵ 

and cause every head to be shaved bald. ¹⁶ 

I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ¹⁷ 

when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ¹⁸ 

James 4:9-10

4:9 Grieve, mourn, ¹⁹  and weep. Turn your laughter ²⁰  into mourning and your joy into despair. 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

[30:11]  ¹ sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.

[6:4]  ² tn Heb “beds of ivory.”

[6:5]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”

[6:5]  ⁵ sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).

[6:5]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).

[6:6]  ⁷ sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”

[6:6]  ⁹ tn Or “not sickened by.”

[6:6]  ¹⁰ sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.

[6:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they will go into exile at the head of the exiles.”

[6:7]  ¹² sn Religious banquets. This refers to the מַרְזֵחַ (marzeakh), a type of pagan religious banquet popular among the upper class of Israel at this time and apparently associated with mourning. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 137-61; J. L. McLaughlin, The “Marzeah” in the Prophetic Literature (VTSup). Scholars debate whether at this banquet the dead were simply remembered or actually venerated in a formal, cultic sense.

[6:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “of the sprawled out.” See v. 4.

[8:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “mourning.”

[8:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”

[8:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

[8:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”

[8:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.

[4:9]  ¹⁹ tn This term and the following one are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.

[4:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “let your laughter be turned.”