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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)
Amos 5:16-20
Common English Bible
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?
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.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible