Amos 5:19

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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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
man	אִישׁ֙ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
flee	יָנ֥וּס ya.Nus	H5127	to flit · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
from	מִפְּנֵ֣י mi.pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
lion	הָאֲרִ֔י ha.'a.Ri	H738	a lion · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
bear	הַדֹּ֑ב ha.Do	H1677	the bear (as slow) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
met	וּפְגָע֖וֹ u.fe.ga.'O	H6293	to impinge · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
went	וּבָ֣א u.Va'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
house	הַבַּ֔יִת ha.Ba.yit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
leaned	וְסָמַ֤ךְ ve.sa.Makh	H5564	to prop (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand	יָדוֹ֙ ya.Do	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wall	הַקִּ֔יר ha.Kir	H7023	a wall (as built in a trench) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
serpent	הַנָּחָֽשׁ ha.na.Chash	H5175	a snake (from its hiss) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
bit	וּנְשָׁכ֖וֹ u.ne.sha.Kho	H5391	to strike with a sting (as a serpent) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 24:17-18 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Jeremiah 15:2-3 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for…
Jeremiah 48:43-44 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
Job 20:24-25 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
Acts 28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though h…
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 Is…
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 o…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Amos 5:16-20

Here is, I. A very terrible threatening of destruction approaching, Amo 5:16, Amo 5:17. 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 has a boundless irresistible power, and it is Adonai - the Lord, who has an absolute incontestable sovereignty, and a universal dominion; it is he who says it, who can and will make his words good,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Amos 5:19

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 Amo 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). So do hypocrites flatter themselves as to death and judgment, as if these would be a relief from existing ills of life. The lion may from generosity spare the prostrate, but the bear spares none (compare Job 20:24; Isa 24:18). leaned . . . on the wall--on the side wall of the house, to support himself from falling. Snakes o…

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Adam Clarke on Amos 5:19

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…

The Church Fathers

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 if a man were to flee from a lion, and a bear should meet him," or howl at being struck by a scorpion, "and a snake should bite him," so completely am I dejected and afflicted with the misery of sorrow. I confess, madam, that every time I try to write to you about the passing of our lady Basilla of blessed memory, I am overcome with bitterness and experience a dullness in my mind, a heaviness in my sense and slowness in my tongue, because while I was occupied with grief, my mind was moved by death.
— Braulio of Zaragoza, LETTER 18

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Fence — (Heb. gader), Num. 22:24 (R.V.). Fences were constructions of unmortared stones, to protect gardens, vineyards, sheepfolds, etc. From various causes they were apt to bulge out and fall (Ps. 62:3). In…
Bear, The · Described as: Cruel — Described as: Cruel
Houses · Serpents often lodged in walls of — Serpents often lodged in walls of
Serpents · Infest: Holes in walls — Infest: Holes in walls
Walls · Of houses: Often infested with serpents — Of houses: Often infested with serpents

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Amos 5:19

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Amos 5:16-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Amos 5:19

Adam Clarke on Amos 5:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Amos 5:19

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Amos 5:16-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Amos 5:19

Adam Clarke on Amos 5:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Amos 5:19

John Calvin on Amos 5:19-20

Keil & Delitzsch on Amos 5:18-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Amos 5:18–end

Rashi on Amos 5:18