Amos 5:19

Amos 5:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As if a man did flee 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.
• New International Version (NIV)It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him!

Context of Amos 5:19

17In every field and garden, people will be weeping, because I will come to punish them all.’ That is what the Lord says. 18You want the special day of the Lord to come. But it will be very bad for you! You think that God will punish your enemies on that day. But that day will not bring light to you, it will bring darkness. Nobody will escape! It will be like a man who runs away from a lion, but then he meets a bear! When he goes into his house to be safe, he puts his hand on a wall and a snake bites him! 20Know this: The day of the Lord will be dark, not light. It will bring trouble, not joy. 21The Lord says, ‘When you have your festivals, I hate them! When you meet to worship me, it does not make me happy!

Amos 5:19 word by word

כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָנ֥וּס אִישׁ֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הָאֲרִ֔י וּפְגָע֖וֹ הַדֹּ֑ב וּבָ֣א הַבַּ֔יִת וְסָמַ֤ךְ יָדוֹ֙ עַל־הַקִּ֔יר וּנְשָׁכ֖וֹ הַנָּחָֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• As if a manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• did fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• fromפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• a lionאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• and a bearדֹּבdôb dôb · bearH1677
• metפָּגַעpâga‛ · to fall onH6293
• him; or wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• into the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• and leanedסָמַךְsâmak · to supportH5564
• his handיָדyâd · handH3027
• on the wallקִירqîyr qir qîyrâh · wallH7023
• and a serpentנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
• bitנָשַׁךְnâshak · to biteH5391

Cross-references for Amos 5:19

• Amos 9:1Then I saw a vision of the Lord. He was standing beside the altar in the temple. The Lord said, ‘Hit the tops of the pillars so that the whole foundation shakes! Cause the building to fall on the heads of all the people. If anyone is still alive after that, I will cause them to die in battle. Nobody will escape!
• 1 Kings 20:29For seven days, the two armies stayed in their camps where they could see each other. On the seventh day, the battle started. The Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian soldiers on that one day.
• Job 20:24He may escape from a soldier who has an iron sword. But then a soldier will shoot a bronze arrow into him.
• Isaiah 24:17People everywhere on the earth, terror is ready to catch you! You will fall into a deep hole, and a trap will catch you!
• Jeremiah 15:2They may ask you, “Where should we go?” Then tell them, “This is what the Lord says: Those who should become ill and die will die. Those who should die in war will die in war. Those who should die from famine will die from famine. Those who should go away as prisoners will go away as prisoners.”
• Jeremiah 48:43The Lord says this: ‘People of Moab, there will be danger, deep holes and traps that are ready to catch you!
• Acts 28:4The people who lived on the island saw the snake. They saw that it was hanging from Paul's hand. So they said to each other, ‘We know now that this man murdered someone. He did not die in the sea but now the snake will kill him. The god who punishes people for the bad things that they do will not let him live.’

Commentaries on Amos 5:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him - They shall go from one evil to another. He who escapes from the lion's mouth shall fall into the bear's paws: - Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim. The Israelites, under their king Menahem, wishing to avoid a civil war, called in Pul, king of Assyria, to help them. This led to a series of evils inflicted by the Syrian and Assyrian kings, till at last Israel was ravaged by Shalmaneser, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19As if a man, did flee from a lion - The Day of the Lord is a day of terror on every side. Before and behind, without and within, abroad under the roof of heaven, or under the shelter of his own, everywhere is terror and death. The Syrian bear is said to have been more fierce and savage than the lion. For its fierceness and voracity Daniel 7:5, God made it, in Daniel‘s vision, a symbol of the empire of the Medes. From both lion and bear there might be…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. 1919. As if a man did flee ... a lion, and a bear met him--Trying to escape one calamity, he falls into another. This perhaps implies that in Am 5:18 their ironical desire for the day of the Lord was as if it would be an escape from existing calamities. The coming of the day of the Lord would be good news to us, if true: for we have served God (that is, the golden calves). So do hypocrites flatter themselves as to death and judgment, as if these would be a…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 5:19

• Judgments
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Fence
• Manifold
• Seek
• Bear
• Joel (2)
• Serpent

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