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 unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! To what end is the day of Jehovah for you? It shall be darkness and not light: 19as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? 21I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will not smell [a sweet odour] in your solemn assemblies. 22For if ye offer up unto me burnt-offerings and your oblations, I will not accept [them]; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fatted beasts.

Amos 5:20 word by word

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

• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• lightאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
• brightnessנֹ֫גַהּnôgahh · brightnessH5051

Cross-references for Amos 5:20

• Job 3:4That day — let it be darkness, let not God care for it from above, neither let light shine upon it:
• Job 10:21Before I go, and never to return, — to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
• Isaiah 13:10For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
• Ezekiel 34:12As a shepherd tendeth his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
• Nahum 1:8But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
• Matthew 22:13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him feet and hands, and take him away, and cast him out into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
• Jude 1:13raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shames; wandering stars, to whom has been reserved the gloom of darkness for eternity.
• Revelation 16:10And the fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast; and its kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues with distress,

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