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Amos 5:16-20
Expanded Bible
Amos 5:16-20
Expanded Bible
16 This is what the Lord, the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], says:
“People will be ·crying [wailing] in all the streets;
they will be saying, ‘Oh, no!’ in the public places.
They will call the farmers to ·come and weep [mourning]
and ·will pay people [L those who know lamentation; C professional mourners paid to weep] to ·cry out loud [wail] for them.
17 People will be ·crying [wailing] in all the vineyards,
because I will pass ·among you to punish you [L through your midst; C as the angel of death passed through Egypt (Ex. 12:12)],” says the Lord.
The Lord’s Day of Judging
18 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] you who want
the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] to come.
Why do you want that day to come?
It will bring darkness for you, not light.
19 It will be like someone who runs from a lion
and meets a bear,
or like someone who goes into his house
and ·puts [leans] his hand on the wall,
and then is bitten by a snake.
20 So the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] will bring darkness, not light;
it will be ·very dark [deep gloom], not ·light at all [brightness].
Amos 5:16-20
New American Standard Bible
Amos 5:16-20
New American Standard Bible
16 Therefore this is what the Lord God of armies, the Lord says:
“There is (A)mourning in all the public squares,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’
They also call the (B)farmer to mourning
And [a](C)professional mourners to mourning rites.
17 And in all the (D)vineyards there is mourning,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.
18 Woe to you who are longing for the (E)day of the Lord,
For what [b]purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be (F)darkness and not light;
19 As when a man (G)flees from a lion
And a bear confronts him,
[c]Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,
And a snake bites him.
20 Will the day of the Lord not be (H)darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?
Amos 5:16-20
New International Version
Amos 5:16-20
New International Version
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing(A) in all the streets(B)
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(C) will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(D) in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through(E) your midst,”
says the Lord.(F)
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!(G)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(H)
That day will be darkness,(I) not light.(J)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,(K)
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.(L)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(M) not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(N)
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.