Amos 5:20

20 So the Lord's day of judging will bring darkness, not light; it will be very dark, not light at all.

Amos 5:20 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 5:20

[Shall] not the day of the Lord [be] darkness, and not light?
&c.] The design of such a question is strongly to affirm, that, in this day of the Lord spoken of, there should be nothing but misery and distress, and no prosperity and happiness, at least to the wicked Israelites, or the unbelieving Jews: even very dark, and no brightness in it?
signifying that there should be no deliverance, nor the least glimmering view or hope of it; that the calamity should be so very great, and the destruction so entire, that there should be no mixture of mercy, nor the least appearance of relief.

Amos 5:20 In-Context

18 How terrible it will be for you who want the Lord's day of judging to come. Why do you want that day to come? It will bring darkness for you, not light.
19 It will be like someone who runs from a lion and meets a bear, or like someone who goes into his house and puts his hand on the wall, and then is bitten by a snake.
20 So the Lord's day of judging will bring darkness, not light; it will be very dark, not light at all.
21 The Lord says, "I completely hate your feasts; I cannot stand your religious meetings.
22 If you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won't accept them. You bring your best fellowship offerings of fattened cattle, but I will ignore them.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.