Amos 5:16-20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
16 Therefore Yahweh, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:
There will be wailing in all the public squares;(A)
they will cry out in anguish[a] in all the streets.
The farmer will be called on to mourn,(B)
and professional mourners[b](C) to wail.
17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,(D)
for I will pass among you.(E)
The Lord has spoken.
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord!(F)
What will the Day of the Lord be for you?
It will be darkness and not light.(G)
19 It will be like a man who flees from a lion(H)
only to have a bear confront him.
He goes home and rests his hand against the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Won’t the Day of the Lord
be darkness rather than light,(I)
even gloom without any brightness in it?(J)
Amos 5:16-20
Common English Bible
Divine wrath anticipated
16 Truly, the Lord proclaims,
the God of heavenly forces, the Lord:
Crying will be heard in all the squares.
In all the streets they will say, “Oh no! Oh no!”
They will call upon the farmers to wail,
and those skilled in mourning to lament.
17 In all the vineyards there will be bitter crying because
I will pass through your midst,
says the Lord.
A statement of divine disgust
18 Doom to those who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
19 as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or sought refuge in a house,
rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
20 Isn’t the day of the Lord darkness, not light;
all dark with no brightness in it?
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