God’s Word Translation
Amos 5:20
20The day of the Lord brings darkness and not light. It is pitch black, with no light.
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
18How horrible it will be for those who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for that day? The day of the Lord is one of darkness and not light. 19It is like a person who flees from a lion only to be attacked by a bear. It is like a person who goes home and puts his hand on the wall only to be bitten by a snake. The day of the Lord brings darkness and not light. It is pitch black, with no light. 21I hate your festivals; I despise them. I’m not pleased with your religious assemblies. 22Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them. I won’t even look at the fellowship offerings of your choicest animals.
Read all of Amos 5Amos 5:20 word by word
הֲלֹא־חֹ֛שֶׁךְ י֥וֹם יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹא־א֑וֹר וְאָפֵ֖ל וְלֹא־נֹ֥גַֽהּ לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Amos 5:20
- Job 3:4“That day— let it be pitch-black. Let God above not ⌞even⌟ care about it. Let no light shine on it.
- Job 10:21before I go away to a land of darkness and gloom,
- Isaiah 13:10The stars in the sky and their constellations won’t show their light anymore. The sun will be dark when it rises. The moon won’t shine.
- Ezekiel 34:12As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them on a cloudy and gloomy day from every place where they have been scattered.
- Nahum 1:8He will put an end to Nineveh with a devastating flood. He will pursue his enemies with darkness.
- Matthew 22:13Then the king told his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.’
- Jude 1:13Their shame is like the foam on the wild waves of the sea. They are wandering stars for whom gloomy darkness is kept forever.
- Revelation 16:10The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom turned dark. People gnawed on their tongues in anguish
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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