Amos 5:8 (DRB)

Passage

Seek him that maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and that turneth darkness into morning, and that changeth day into night: that calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:6 Seek ye the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be burnt with fire, and it shall devour, and there shall be none to quench Bethel.

Amos 5:7 You that turn judgment into wormwood, and forsake justice in the land,

Amos 5:8 Seek him that maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and that turneth darkness into morning, and that changeth day into night: that calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.

Amos 5:9 He that with a smile bringeth destruction upon the strong, and waste upon the mighty.

Amos 5:10 They have hated him that rebuketh in the gate: and have abhorred him that speaketh perfectly.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "seek", "maketh", "arcturus", "orion", "turneth", "morning", and "changeth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "seek", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "You that turn judgment into wormwood and..." into verse 9's "He that with a smile bringeth destruction...", so "darkness" and "seek" 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 "darkness" and "seek" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.