Amos 5:15 (YLT)

Passage

Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity the remnant of Joseph.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:13 Therefore is the wise at that time silent, For an evil time it <FI>is<Fi> .

Amos 5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live, And it is so; Jehovah, God of Hosts, <FI>is<Fi> with you, as ye said.

Amos 5:15 Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5:16 Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, the Lord, In all broad places <FI>is<Fi> lamentation, And in all out-places they say, `Alas, alas,' And called the husbandman to mourning, And to lamentation the skilful of wailing.

Amos 5:17 And in all vineyards <FI>is<Fi> lamentation, For I pass into thy midst, said Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hate", "evil", "love", "good", "judgment", "gate", "jehovah", and "hosts". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hate" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Seek good and not evil that ye..." into verse 16's "Therefore thus said Jehovah God of Hosts...", so "hate" and "evil" 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 "hate" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.