Amos 5:18 (DRB)

Passage

Woe to them 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 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.

Amos 5:18 Woe to them 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 should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him: or enter into the house, and lean with his hand upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

Amos 5:20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light: and obscurity, 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 there shall be..." into verse 19's "As if a man should 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.