Amos 5:20 (DBY)

Passage

Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Nearby Context

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?

Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will not smell [a sweet odour] in your solemn assemblies.

Amos 5:22 For if ye offer up unto me burnt-offerings and your oblations, I will not accept [them]; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fatted beasts.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "shall", "jehovah", "even", "very", and "brightness". 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 19's "as if a man fled from a..." into verse 21's "I hate I despise your feasts and...", 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.