Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it/The day of the LORD will bring darkness and not light; it will be a day of gloom, without any brightness. The Hebrew either asks one double question or else asks a single question and answers it. Most translations and commentaries take the first way, as in the Revised Standard Version. The other possibility is: “Is not the day of the LORD darkness and not light? Yes, it is gloom without any brightness.” The meaning is the same in either case, and the answer to the question is “yes” in either case.

Where questions of this kind do not exist or are not clear or appropriate, there are three different ways to translate: (a) the whole verse can be translated as a statement as in Good News Translation and in New English Bible; (b) the first part can be translated as a question and the second as the answer to that question; (c) the whole verse can be translated as a question, and an answer such as “Yes, it will be like that” can be added. Questions like this really have the meaning of forceful statements in Hebrew, not of questions (see 3.3). The choice should be based on the style of the receptor language and the impact on the readers. In many languages a future tense should be used.

On translating the picture of darkness and light, see 5.18. It may not be possible to say that the day/time (when the LORD will judge) will bring darkness, since a day cannot do something in many languages: “The day/time … will be dark.” Gloom, without any brightness can sometimes be translated more easily as “black without any ray of light in it.”

It may be helpful to bring out the connection with the previous verse by making a comparison here: “That is how it really will be on the day when the LORD will judge Israel. It will be dark, not light….” Or, if the basis of the comparison is not clear: “On the day when the LORD judges Israel you will not have the good you expect. It will be dark….”

Since the next subsection has the LORD speaking, some translations will need to show that Amos’ own words end here: “he said,” “Amos finished speaking,” etc.

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .