Amos 5 · Verse 20

Amos 5:20

Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Amos 5:20, King James Version

Amos 5:20 in other translations

BSBWill not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light, even gloom with no brightness in it?
WEBWon’t the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
ASVShall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
YLTIs not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that hath no brightness?
DARBYShall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
BBEWill not the day of the Lord be dark and not light? even very dark, with no light shining in it?
WebsterShall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

What does Amos 5:20 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Amos 5:18-27

Woe unto those that desire the day of the Lord's judgments, that wish for times of war and confusion; as some who long for changes, hoping to rise upon the ruins of their country! but this should be so great a desolation, that nobody could gain by it. The day of the Lord will be a dark, dismal, gloomy day to all impenitent sinners. When God makes a day dark, all the world cannot make it light. Those who are not…

Read the full comment on Amos 5:18-27 →

Amos 5:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הֲלֹא\־ha.lo'-¿ notH3808
חֹ֛שֶׁךְCho.shekh[be] darknessH2822
י֥וֹםYom[will] [the] day ofH3117
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
א֑וֹר'orlightH216
וְאָפֵ֖לve.'a.Feland gloomyH651
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
נֹ֥גַֽהּNo.gahbrightnessH5051
לֽוֹ\׃lo[will belong] to it

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Amos 5:20

  • Isaiah 13:10

    For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

  • Zephaniah 1:15

    That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

  • Ezekiel 34:12

    As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

  • Job 10:21-22

    Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

  • Jude 1:13

    Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

  • Nahum 1:8

    But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

  • Revelation 16:10

    And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,

  • Matthew 22:13

    Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

  • Job 3:4-6

    Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
darkness.
Job 3:4-6; 10:21,22; Isa 13:10; Eze 34:12; Na 1:8; Mt 22:13
Jude 1:13; Re 16:10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Amos 5:19

    As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

  • Amos 5:20

    Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

  • Amos 5:21

    I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Read all of Amos 5

Amos 5:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
¿No será el día de Jehová tinieblas, y no luz; oscuridad, que no tiene resplandor?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Le jour de l’ Éternel n’est-il pas ténèbres, et non lumière? et profonde obscurité, et non splendeur?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wird denn nicht der Tag Jehovas Finsternis sein und nicht Licht, und Dunkelheit und nicht Glanz?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Numquid non tenebræ dies Domini, et non lux; et caligo, et non splendor in ea?