Amos 5:13 (WEB)

Passage

Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

Amos 5:12 For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins— you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn away the needy in the courts.

Amos 5:13 Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.

Amos 5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be with you, as you say.

Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "prudent", "person", "keeps", "silent", "such", "time", and "evil". 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 how many your offenses..." into verse 14's "Seek good and not evil that you...", 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.