The Meaning of Amos 5:18 Explained

Amos 5:18

KJV: Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

YLT: Ho, ye who are desiring the day of Jehovah, Why is this to you -- the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light,

Darby: Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! To what end is the day of Jehovah for you? It shall be darkness and not light:

ASV: Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light.

Discover Amos 5:18

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Amos 5:18?

MEANING: What does Amos 5:18 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Amos 5:18 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Amos 5:18?

What is the context of Amos 5:18?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.

What does Amos 5:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet began his message by crying, "Alas" ( Hebrews , hoy, woe, oh). This word announced coming doom, another funeral lament (cf. Amos 5:1). Many Israelites in Amos" day were looking forward to a coming day of the Lord. Former prophets had spoken of a day in which Yahweh would conquer His enemies and the enemies of His people and establish His sovereign rule over the world (e.g, Deuteronomy 33:2-3; Joel 3:18-21, and perhaps Isaiah 24:21-23; Isaiah 34:1-3; Isaiah 34:8). The Israelites knew that this was going to be a time of great divine blessing, but Amos informed them that it would also be a time of divine chastisement. It would be a time of darkness rather than light (cf. Jeremiah 46:10; Joel 3:1-17; Zephaniah 3:8; Zechariah 14:1-3). God would judge His people before He blessed them.

Context Summary

Amos 5:16-27 - A Dark Day For Hypocrites

Mighty sins had been committed, and mighty judgments were at hand. The oppression of the poor, Amos 5:11; the erection of elegant dwellings from unrighteous exactions, Amos 5:11; the acceptance of bribes to betray the needy, Amos 5:12 all these must be reckoned with. But if the guilty nation would not seek God and establish judgment in the gate, where magistrates sat to dispense justice, the streets would be filled with wailing, and the husbandmen and vine-dressers would be equally affected by the widespread desolation as the dwellers in the cities.

Moreover, bad as Israel's present condition was, it would become infinitely worse, as though a man fleeing from a lion rushed into the arms of a bear, or, taking refuge in a house, was stung by a serpent that lay hid in a cranny of the wall. Of what avail are religious rites, when the heart is alienated from God, Amos 5:21, etc.? Let us heed well the exhortation of Amos 5:23-24. The martyr Stephen quoted Amos 5:25-27, which accuse the people of carrying about little shrines and pocket-idols, to serve as amulets averting disaster, Acts 7:43. But they might as well have built a bank of sand to arrest an overflowing flood! The one thing which is going to help us is repentance toward God and faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 5

¹ A lamentation for Israel
⁴ An exhortation to repentance
²¹ God rejects their hypocritical service

What do the individual words in Amos 5:18 mean?

Woe to you who desire - the day of Yahweh for what [good is] this to you of Yahweh it [will be] darkness and not light

ה֥וֹי הַמִּתְאַוִּ֖ים אֶת־ י֣וֹם ! יְהוָ֑ה לָמָּה־ זֶּ֥ה לָכֶ֛ם יְהוָ֖ה הוּא־ חֹ֥שֶׁךְ וְלֹא־ אֽוֹר

ה֥וֹי	Woe
Parse: Interjection Root: הֹוי Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
הַמִּתְאַוִּ֖ים	to you who desire
Parse: Article, Verb, Hitpael, Participle, masculine plural Root: אָוָה Sense: desire, incline, covet, wait longingly, wish, sigh, want, be greedy, prefer.
אֶת־	-
Parse: Direct object marker Root: אֹות Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
י֣וֹם	the day
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: יׄום Sense: day, time, year.
! יְהוָ֑ה	of Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לָמָּה־	for what [good is]
Parse: Preposition-l, Interrogative Root: לָמָּה Sense: what, how, of what kind.
זֶּ֥ה	this
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular Root: זֶה Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
לָכֶ֛ם	to you
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
יְהוָ֖ה	of Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הוּא־	it [will be]
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular Root: הוּא Sense: he, she, it.
חֹ֥שֶׁךְ	darkness
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: חֹשֶׁךְ Sense: darkness, obscurity.
וְלֹא־	and not
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle Root: הֲלֹא Sense: not, no.
אֽוֹר	light
Parse: Noun, common singular Root: אֹור Sense: light.

What are the major concepts related to Amos 5:18?

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