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 to those who wish for the day of the Lord! Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come? It will bring darkness, not light. 19Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake. Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light – gloomy blackness, not bright light? 21“I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies! 22Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.

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 3:4That day – let it be darkness; let not God on high regard it, nor let light shine on it!
• Job 10:21before I depart, never to return, to the land of darkness and the deepest shadow,
• Isaiah 13:10Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations no longer give out their light; the sun is darkened as soon as it rises, and the moon does not shine.
• Ezekiel 34:12As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.
• Nahum 1:8But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh; he will drive his enemies into darkness.
• Matthew 22:13Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’
• Jude 1:13wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved.
• Revelation 16:10Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain.

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