Amos 5:18-27

18 Alas, you who are longing for the ¹day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be ²darkness and not light;

19 As when a man ³flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him.

20 Will not the day of the LORD be ⁴darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 "I hate, I ⁵reject your festivals, Nor do I ⁶delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 "Even though you ⁷offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the ⁸peace offerings of your fatlings.

23 "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

24 "But let ⁹justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 "¹⁰Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?

26 "¹¹You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

27 "Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond * Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

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.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 5:19; Jeremiah 30:7; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1, 11, 31
• 2. Isaiah 5:30; Joel 2:2
• 3. Job 20:24; Isaiah 24:17, 18; Jeremiah 15:2, 3; Jeremiah 48:44
• 4. Isaiah 13:10; Zephaniah 1:15
• 5. Isaiah 1:11-16; Isaiah 66:3; Amos 4:4, 5; Amos 8:10
• 6. Leviticus 26:31; Jeremiah 14:12; Hosea 5:6
• 7. Isaiah 66:3; Micah 6:6, 7
• 8. Leviticus 7:11-15; Amos 4:5
• 9. Jeremiah 22:3; Ezekiel 45:9; Micah 6:8
• 10. Deuteronomy 32:17; Joshua 24:14; Nehemiah 9:18-21; Acts 7:42, 43
• 11. Acts 7:43

Footnotes

• [a] Or "Then"
• [b] Lit "like to smell"
• [c] Or "You presented Me with the sacrifices and a grain offering"
• [d] Or "Sakkuth (Saturn)" or "shrine of your Moloch"
• [e] Or "Kaiwan (Saturn)" or "stands of"
• [f] Or "your star gods"