Amos 5:19 (WEB)

Passage

As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:17 In all vineyards there will be wailing; for I will pass through the middle of you,” says Yahweh.

Amos 5:18 “Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light.

Amos 5:19 As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.

Amos 5:20 Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fled", "lion", "bear", "went", "house", "leaned", "hand", and "wall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fled" and "lion", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "Woe to you who desire the day..." into verse 20's "Won t the day of Yahweh be...", so "fled" and "lion" 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 "fled" and "lion" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.