Amos 5:19
in Amos 5It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
KJV
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
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This verse in Amos 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As if a man, did flee from a lion - The Day of the Lord is a day of terror on every side. Before and behind, without and within, abroad under the roof of heaven, or under the shelter of his own, everywhere is terror and death. The Syrian bear is said to have been more fierce and savage than the lion. For its fierceness and voracity Dan 7:5, God made it, in Daniel’s vision, a symbol of the empire of the Medes. From both lion and bear there might be escape by flight.
This site's exposition
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord
on Amos 5:18-20
Israel expected the day of the Lord as a day of vindication against her enemies, and Amos overturns the expectation flatly, to what end is it for you, the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. The bench reads the three pictures of verse 19, the lion escaped only to meet a bear, the bear escaped only to meet a snake in one's own house, as a deliberate ladder of relief that keeps collapsing, no refuge proving safe. This is the earliest text in Scripture to name the day of the Lord as a technical phrase, and the darkness Amos gives it here becomes the note Joel, Zephaniah and the rest of the prophets carry forward.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 18-20.) Woe to those who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for it? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? Woe to those who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
The Medieval Church1 voice
I am pierced by one wound and tortured with much grief, the bond of bitterness does not permit the tongue to perform its function, and it is easier to weep than to talk. Lo, one affliction comes upon another affliction and contrition upon contrition, "as …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. 25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As if a man did flee . . . a lion, and a bear met him--Trying to escape one calamity, he falls into another. This perhaps implies that in Am 5:18 their ironical desire for the day of the Lord was as if it would be an escape from existing calamities. The coming of the day of the Lord would be good news to us, if true: for we have served God (that is, the golden calves).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him - They shall go from one evil to another. He who escapes from the lion’s mouth shall fall into the bear’s paws: - Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim. The Israelites, under their king Menahem, wishing to avoid a civil war, called in Pul, king of Assyria, to help them. This led to a series of evils inflicted by the Syrian and Assyrian kings, till at last Israel was ravaged by Shalmaneser, and carried into captivity. Thus, in avoiding one evil they fell into another still more grievous. Leaned his hands on a wall, and a serpent bit him - Snakes and venomous animals are fond of taking up their lodging in walls of houses, where they can either find or make holes; and it is dangerous to sit near them or lean against them. In the East Indies they keep the faithful mongose, a species of ichneumon, in their houses, for the purpose of destroying the snakes that infest them.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָנ֥וּס | yanus | he flees | H5127 → | 159 times |
| אִישׁ֙ | ʾish | someone | H376 → | |
| מִפְּנֵ֣י | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֲרִ֔י | haari | the lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| וּפְגָע֖וֹ | ufegao | and it meets him | H6293 → | |
| הַדֹּ֑ב | hado | the bear | H1677 → | |
| וּבָ֣א | uva' | and he goes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַבַּ֔יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְסָמַ֤ךְ | vesamakh | and he leans | H5564 → | |
| יָדוֹ֙ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַקִּ֔יר | hakir | the wall | H7023 → | |
| וּנְשָׁכ֖וֹ | uneshakho | and it bites him | H5391 → | |
| הַנָּחָֽשׁ׃ | hanachash | the snake | H5175 → |
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יָנ֥וּסhe flees
yanusH5127 →159 times
אִישׁ֙someone
ʾishH376 →
מִפְּנֵ֣יfrom before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֲרִ֔יthe lion
haariH738 →80 times
וּפְגָע֖וֹand it meets him
ufegaoH6293 →
הַדֹּ֑בthe bear
hadoH1677 →
וּבָ֣אand he goes
uva'H935 →2568 times
הַבַּ֔יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
וְסָמַ֤ךְand he leans
vesamakhH5564 →
יָדוֹ֙hand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַקִּ֔ירthe wall
hakirH7023 →
וּנְשָׁכ֖וֹand it bites him
uneshakhoH5391 →
הַנָּחָֽשׁ׃the snake
hanachashH5175 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to…
it leads to
- Luke 13:2
To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate?
- Luke 13:4
Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?
- Acts 28:5
But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
- John 7:24
Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
- Acts 28:2
The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.
- Luke 13:2
Where this verse is studied
About Amos
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Braulio of Zaragoza, LETTER 18; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.