Amos 5:17 (ASV)

Passage

And in all vineyards shall be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.

Nearby Context

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

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

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

Amos 5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "vineyards", "shall", "wailing", "pass", "through", "midst", "thee", and "saith". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "vineyards" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of..." into verse 18's "Woe unto you that desire the day...", so "vineyards" and "shall" 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 "vineyards" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.