Amos 5:20

Amos 5:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
• New International Version (NIV)Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

Context of Amos 5:20

18Woe (judgment is coming) to you who desire the day of the Lord [expecting rescue from the Gentiles]! Why would you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness (judgment) and not light [and rescue and prosperity]; 19It is as if a man runs from a lion [escaping one danger] And a bear meets him [so he dies anyway], Or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, instead of light, Even very dark with no brightness in it? 21“I hate, I despise and reject your [sacred] feasts, And I do not take delight in your solemn assemblies. 22Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened animals.

Amos 5:20 word by word

הֲלֹא־חֹ֛שֶׁךְ י֥וֹם יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹא־א֑וֹר וְאָפֵ֖ל וְלֹא־נֹ֥גַֽהּ לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• not the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• and not lightאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
• even very darkאָפֵל'aphêl · gloomyH651
• and no brightnessנֹ֫גַהּnôgahh · brightnessH5051

Cross-references for Amos 5:20

• Job 3:4May that day be darkness; Let God above not care about it, Nor light shine on it.
• Job 10:21Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],
• Isaiah 13:10For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash with their light; The sun will be dark when it rises, And the moon will not shed its light.
• Ezekiel 34:12As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.
• Nahum 1:8But with an overwhelming flood [of judgment through invading armies] He will make a complete destruction of its site And will pursue His enemies into darkness.
• Matthew 22:13Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’
• Jude 1:13wild waves of the sea, flinging up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of deep darkness has been reserved forever.
• Revelation 16:10Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness; and people gnawed their tongues because of the pain [of their excruciating anguish and severe torment],

Commentaries on Amos 5:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Shall not the Day of the Lord be darkness? - He had described that Day as a day of inevitable destruction, such its man‘s own conscience and guilty fears anticipate, and then appeals to their own consciences, “is it not so, as I have said?” People‘s consciences are truer than their intellect. However, they may employ the subtlety of their intellect to dull their conscience, they feel, in their heart of hearts, that there is a Judge, that guilt is…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-27Verses 18-27 Woe unto those that desire the day of the Lord's judgments, that wish for times of war and confusion; as some who long for changes, hoping to rise upon the ruins of their country! but this should be so great a desolation, that nobody could gain by it. The day of the Lord will be a dark, dismal, gloomy day to all impenitent sinners. When God makes a day dark, all the world cannot make it light. Those who are not reformed by the judgments of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-27The pronouncements of sorrow in this section develop two main themes: Israel’s apostasy (turning away from God) would make the day of the Lord a day of judgment, not salvation; and Judah’s spiritual complacency (feeling satisfied and unconcerned about faithfulness to God) would also bring judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-271. lamentation--an elegy for the destruction coming on you. Compare Eze 32:2, "take up," namely, as a mournful burden (Eze 19:1; 27:2).Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 5:20

• Darkness
• Judgments
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Manifold
• Seek
• Joel (2)

Commentaries on Amos 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings