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Amos 5:16-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Amos 5:16-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord:
In all the squares there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! Alas!”
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and those skilled in lamentation to wailing;(A)
17 in all the vineyards there shall be wailing,
for I will pass through the midst of you,
says the Lord.(B)
The Day of the Lord a Dark Day
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light,(C)
19 as if someone fled from a lion
and was met by a bear
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall
and was bitten by a snake.(D)
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?(E)
Amos 5:16-20
New Living Translation
Amos 5:16-20
New Living Translation
16 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says:
“There will be crying in all the public squares
and mourning in every street.
Call for the farmers to weep with you,
and summon professional mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing in every vineyard,
for I will destroy them all,”
says the Lord.
Warning of Coming Judgment
18 What 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.
19 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.
20 Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,
without a ray of joy or hope.
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)
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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.