Amos 5:18 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Amos 5:18 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.

Amos 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Amos 5:20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "desire", and "lord". It is saying that the contrast between light and darkness marks a real divide in how people respond to God's work.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And in all vineyards shall be wailing..." into verse 19's "As if a man did flee from...", so "light" and "darkness" 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 "light" and "darkness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.