Amos 5:18 (DBY)

Passage

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:

Nearby Context

Amos 5:16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all broadways; and they shall say in all the streets, 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 the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.

Amos 5:18 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:

Amos 5:19 as if a man fled 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 Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "desire", "jehovah", and "shall". 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 fled from a...", 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.