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

17There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will destroy them all,” says the Lord. 18What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the Lord were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light. In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion— only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house— and he’s bitten by a snake. 20Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope. 21“I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.

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 standing beside the altar. He said, “Strike the tops of the Temple columns, so that the foundation will shake. Bring down the roof on the heads of the people below. I will kill with the sword those who survive. No one will escape!
• 1 Kings 20:29The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day.
• Job 20:24When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
• Isaiah 24:17Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth.
• Jeremiah 15:2And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, to famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’
• Jeremiah 48:43“Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, O Moab,” says the Lord.
• Acts 28:4The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to 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