Amos 5:13 (GNV)

Passage

Therefore the prudent shall keepe silence in that time, for it is an euill time.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:11 Forasmuch then as your treading is vpon the poore, and yee take from him burdens of wheate, ye haue built houses of hewen stone, but ye shall not dwel in them: ye haue plated pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drinke wine of them.

Amos 5:12 For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mightie sinnes: they afflict the iust, they take rewards, and they oppresse the poore in ye gate.

Amos 5:13 Therefore the prudent shall keepe silence in that time, for it is an euill time.

Amos 5:14 Seeke good and not euil, that ye may liue: and the Lord God of hostes shalbe with you, as you haue spoken.

Amos 5:15 Hate the euil, and loue the good, and establish iudgement in the gate: it may bee that the Lord God of hostes will be mercifull vnto the remnant of Ioseph.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "prudent", "shall", "keepe", "silence", "time", and "euill". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "prudent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "For I know your manifold transgressions and..." into verse 14's "Seeke good and not euil that ye...", so "therefore" and "prudent" 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 "therefore" and "prudent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.