Amos 5:19 (YLT)

Passage

As <FI>when<Fi> one fleeth from the face of the lion, And the bear hath met him, And he hath come in to the house, And hath leant his hand on the wall, And the serpent hath bitten him.

Nearby Context

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

Amos 5:18 Ho, ye who are desiring the day of Jehovah, Why <FI>is<Fi> this to you--the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light,

Amos 5:19 As <FI>when<Fi> one fleeth from the face of the lion, And the bear hath met him, And he hath come in to the house, And hath leant his hand on the wall, And the serpent hath bitten him.

Amos 5:20 Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that hath no brightness?

Amos 5:21 I have hated--I have loathed your festivals, And I am not refreshed by your restraints.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fleeth", "face", "lion", "bear", "hath", "come", and "house". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fleeth" and "face", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "Ho ye who are desiring the day..." into verse 20's "Is not the day of Jehovah darkness...", so "fleeth" and "face" 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 "fleeth" and "face" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.