Amos 5:20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Amos 5:16-20

Here is, I. A very terrible threatening of destruction approaching, Amos 5:16, 17. Since they would not take the right course to obtain the favour of God, God would take an effectual course to make them feel the weight of his displeasure. The threatening is introduced with more than ordinary solemnity, to strike an awe upon them; it is not the word of the prophet only (if so, it might be made light of) but it is the Lord Jehovah, who has an infinite eternal being; it is the God of hosts, who... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 5:20

Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light ?.... The design of such a question is strongly to affirm, that, in this day of the Lord spoken of, there should be nothing but misery and distress, and no prosperity and happiness, at least to the wicked Israelites, or the unbelieving Jews: even very dark, and no brightness in it ? signifying that there should be no deliverance, nor the least glimmering view or hope of it; that the calamity should be so very great, and the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 5:20

Verse 20 “You have no reason,” he says, “to hope for any light from the day of Jehovah.” Why? “For Jehovah will not come, except when armed; for, as ye conduct yourselves in a hostile manner towards him, he must necessarily take vengeance. He will, therefore, bring with him no light, except it may be to fulminate against you: but his appearance will be dreadful, even darkness and thick darkness; and then, when he ceases to pursue you in one way, he will assail you in another; and, when foreign... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 5:18-20

The day of the Lord the night of the impenitent. Divine judgments will be as sharp as they are sure. Sent in wrath, proportioned to guilt, falling on the vulnerable points, they are the least desirable of all imaginable things. The very thought of them should be sobering, and the sure prospect of them overwhelming. Now, the scoffer is the worst type of sinner, and will, in the nature of the case, be the greatest sufferer when judgment comes. He is at the same time the most utterly blinded... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 5:18-27

The prophet enforces the threat by denouncing woe on those that trust to their covenant relation to God, expecting the day when he would punish the heathen for their sakes, and thinking that external, heartless worship was acceptable to him. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 5:20

The character of the day of the Lord is enforced with reiterated earnestness ( Amos 5:18 ) by an appeal to the conscience of e hearers. Do you not feel in your inmost hearts that in the case of such guilt as yours the Lord can visit but to punish? read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Amos 5:20

Shall not the Day of the Lord be darkness? - He had described that Day as a day of inevitable destruction, such its man’s own conscience and guilty fears anticipate, and then appeals to their own consciences, “is it not so, as I have said?” People’s consciences are truer than their intellect. However, they may employ the subtlety of their intellect to dull their conscience, they feel, in their heart of hearts, that there is a Judge, that guilt is punished, that they are guilty. The soul is a... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Amos 5:18-20

Amos 5:18-20. Wo unto you that desire the day of the Lord Scoffingly, not believing any such day will come: for this seems to be spoken of some among them, who, in mockery, expressed a desire of seeing those things which the prophet predicted brought to pass. Or, it may respect those who, notwithstanding all the prophet had said, still expected God would appear in their favour, not to their destruction: see Isaiah 5:19. To what end is it for you? To what purpose should you desire to see... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Amos 5:16-27

The day of the Lord (5:16-27)God’s terrible judgment will result in grief and mourning throughout the nation, in city and country areas alike (16-17). This intervention of God in judgment is commonly called the day of the Lord. Israelites thought that this day would be one of victory and rejoicing for them because their enemies would be destroyed. Amos tells them that when God acts in judgment, he will act against all the wicked, and Israel will be the first to suffer. There will be no way of... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Amos 5:20

Shall not. ? Figure of speech Erotesis ( App-6 ), for emphasis and no brightness. Note the Figures of speech Pleonasm and Erotesis ( App-6 ). Some codices omit "and". read more

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