Amos 5:19
New International Version
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.

New Living Translation
In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion— only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house— and he’s bitten by a snake.

English Standard Version
as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Berean Standard Bible
It 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.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him!

New American Standard Bible
As when a man flees from a lion And a bear confronts him, Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him.

NASB 1995
As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him.

NASB 1977
As when a man flees from a lion, And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him.

Legacy Standard Bible
As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him; Or he goes home, leans his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him.

Amplified Bible
It is as if a man runs from a lion [escaping one danger] And a bear meets him [so he dies anyway], Or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wall And a snake bites him.

Christian Standard Bible
It will be like a man who flees from a lion only to have a bear confront him. He goes home and rests his hand against the wall only to have a snake bite him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
It will be like a man who flees from a lion only to have a bear confront him. He goes home and rests his hand against the wall only to have a snake bite him.

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
As when a man fled from before a lion and a bear met with him, and he entered the house and he put his hand on the wall and a serpent bit him

Brenton Septuagint Translation
As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him; and he should spring into his house, and lean his hands upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

Contemporary English Version
You will run from a lion, only to meet a bear. You will escape to your house, rest your hand on the wall, and be bitten by a snake.

Douay-Rheims Bible
As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him: or enter into the house, and lean with his hand upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
It is like a person who flees from a lion only to be attacked by a bear. It is like a person who goes home and puts his hand on the wall only to be bitten by a snake.

Good News Translation
It will be like someone who runs from a lion and meets a bear! Or like someone who comes home and puts his hand on the wall--only to be bitten by a snake!

International Standard Version
It will be like a man who runs from a lion, only to encounter a bear; or who comes home, leans his hand against a wall, and a serpent bites him!

JPS Tanakh 1917
As if a man did flee from a lion, And a bear met him; And went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him.

Literal Standard Version
As [when] one flees from the face of the lion, | And the bear has met him, | And he has come into the house, | And has leaned his hand on the wall, | And the serpent has bitten him.

Majority Standard Bible
It 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.

New American Bible
As if someone fled from a lion and a bear met him; Or as if on entering the house he rested his hand against the wall, and a snake bit it.

NET Bible
Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

New Revised Standard Version
as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.

New Heart English Bible
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 serpent bit him.

Webster's Bible Translation
As if a man fled 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.

World English Bible
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.

Young's Literal Translation
As when 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.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Day of the LORD
18Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light. 19It 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. 20Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light, even gloom with no brightness in it?…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 32:24
They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.

Job 20:24
Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

Ecclesiastes 10:8
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

Isaiah 24:17
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.

Isaiah 24:18
Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Jeremiah 15:2
If they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: 'Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.'

Jeremiah 15:3
I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.


Treasury of Scripture

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.

As if.

Amos 9:1,2
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered…

1 Kings 20:29,30
And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day…

Job 20:24,25
He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through…

Jump to Previous
Bear Bit Bite Bites Bitten Entered Face Fled Flee Flees Fleeth Goes Hand Home House Leant Lion Meet Meets Met Rested Running Serpent Snake Wall
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Bear Bit Bite Bites Bitten Entered Face Fled Flee Flees Fleeth Goes Hand Home House Leant Lion Meet Meets Met Rested Running Serpent Snake Wall
Amos 5
1. A lamentation for Israel.
4. An exhortation to repentance.
21. God rejects their hypocritical service.














(19) Your escape will be impossible. You will avoid one calamity, only to fall into a worse.

Verse 19. - Amos explains the dangers of this judgment day by illustrations drawn from pastoral life, equivalent to the rushing from Charybdis into Scylla. Every place is full of danger - the open country, the shelter of the house. Jerome applies the passage to the fate of the kingdom in general: "Fugientibus vobis a facie Nabuchodonosor leonis occurrent Medi, Persae, demum Antiochus Epiphanes, qui moretur in templo et vos instar colubri mordeat, nequaquam foris in Babylone, sed intra terminos terrae sanctae."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
It will be like
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

a man
אִישׁ֙ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

who flees
יָנ֥וּס (yā·nūs)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5127: To flit, vanish away

from
מִפְּנֵ֣י (mip·pə·nê)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

a lion
הָאֲרִ֔י (hā·’ă·rî)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 738: A lion

only to encounter
וּפְגָע֖וֹ (ū·p̄ə·ḡā·‘ōw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6293: To impinge, by accident, violence, by importunity

a bear,
הַדֹּ֑ב (had·dōḇ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1677: The bear

or who enters
וּבָ֣א (ū·ḇā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

his house
הַבַּ֔יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

and rests
וְסָמַ֤ךְ (wə·sā·maḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5564: To prop, to lean upon, take hold of

his hand
יָדוֹ֙ (yā·ḏōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

against
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the wall,
הַקִּ֔יר (haq·qîr)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7023: A wall

only to have a serpent
הַנָּחָֽשׁ׃ (han·nā·ḥāš)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5175: A serpent

bite him.
וּנְשָׁכ֖וֹ (ū·nə·šā·ḵōw)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5391: To strike with a, sting, to oppress with usury


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OT Prophets: Amos 5:19 As if a man fled (Amo. Am)
Amos 5:18
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