Amos 5:15 (KJV)

Passage

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Amos 5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Amos 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5:16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

Amos 5:17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hate", "evil", "love", "good", "establish", "judgment", "gate", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hate" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Seek good and not evil that ye..." into verse 16's "Therefore the LORD the God of hosts...", so "hate" and "evil" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hate" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.