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 all vineyards will be wailing, for I will pass through your midst” —Adonai has spoken. 18Oy to you—longing for the Day of Adonai! What would it be for you? The Day of Adonai will be darkness and not light. It will be as when a man is fleeing from a lion—and meets a bear! Or he comes home, leans his hand on the wall, and a snake bites him! 20Will not the Day of Adonai be darkness, not light? Gloom, not brightness? 21“I hate, I despise your festivals! I take no delight in your sacred 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 9:1I saw my Lord standing by the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars, so the porches shake! Break all of them off at the head! Then the last of them I will slay with the sword— none of them fleeing will escape and no fugitive will slip away.
• 1 Kings 20:29So they encamped one over against the other seven days. On the seventh day the battle was joined, and the children of Israel struck down 100,000 of the Aramean foot soldiers in a single day.
• Job 20:24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze bow pierces him through.
• Isaiah 24:17Panic, pit and trap are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
• Jeremiah 15:2It will come to pass, when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ Then You will tell them, thus says Adonai: “Those for death—to death! Those for the sword—to the sword! Those for famine—to famine! Those for exile—to exile!
• Jeremiah 48:43Panic, pit and trap, are upon you, inhabitant of Moab,” declares Adonai.
• Acts 28:4When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Though he has been saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed 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