Amos 5:18-27

The Day of the Lord

18 Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord! What will the Day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light.

19 It will be like a man who flees from a lion 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, even gloom without any brightness in it?^[a]

21 I hate, I despise your feasts! I can't stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.

22 Even if you offer Me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept [them];^[b] I will have no regard for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle.

23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.^[c]

24 But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.^[d]

25 "House of Israel, was it sacrifices and grain offerings that you presented to Me during the 40 years in the wilderness?

26 But you have taken up^[e] Sakkuth^[f][g]your king^[h] and Kaiwan^[i][j]your star god, images you have made for yourselves.^[k]

27 So I will send you into exile beyond Damascus."^[l] Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name. He has spoken.

Amos 5:18-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 5

In this chapter the prophet exhorts Israel to hear his lamentation over them for their impending ruin, Am 5:1-3; nevertheless to seek the Lord, and all that is good; to forsake their idols, and repent of their sins, in hopes of finding mercy, and living comfortably; or otherwise they must expect the wrath of God for their iniquities, especially their oppression of the poor, Am 5:4-15; otherwise it would be a time of weeping and wailing, of darkness and distress, however they might harden or flatter themselves, or make a jest of it, Am 5:16-20; for all their sacrifices and ceremonial worship would signify nothing, so long as they continued their idolatry with them Am 5:21-26; and therefore should surely go into captivity, Am 5:27.

Footnotes

• [a]. Jl 2:2; Zph 1:15
• [b]. Jr 14:12
• [c]. Isa 5:12
• [d]. Mc 6:6-8
• [e]. Or you will lift up
• [f]. LXX, Sym, Syr, Vg read the tent; Ac 7:43
• [g]. Lit Sikkuth; probably a Mesopotamian war god also called Adar or Ninurta
• [h]. LXX, Vg read up the tent of Molech; Ac 7:43
• [i]. LXX reads Rephan; Ac 7:43
• [j]. Lit Kiyyun; probably a Mesopotamian god identified with Saturn
• [k]. Isa 44:12-20
• [l]. 2 Kg 17:5-6; Ac 7:42-43