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?

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:16 Lit those who know mourning
  2. Amos 5:18 Lit will this be to you, the day
  3. Amos 5:19 Or Then

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)

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