Amos 5:15 (DRB)

Passage

Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be the Lord the God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

Nearby Context

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

Amos 5:14 Seek ye good, and not evil, that you may live: and the Lord the God of hosts will be with you, as you have said.

Amos 5:15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be the Lord the God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of hosts the sovereign Lord: In every street there shall be wailing: and in all places that are without, they shall say: Alas, alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful in lamentation to lament.

Amos 5:17 And in all vineyards there shall be wailing: because I will pass through in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Seek ye good and not evil that..." into verse 16's "Therefore thus saith the Lord the God...", so "mercy" and "hate" 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 "mercy" and "hate" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.