Amos 2:11

11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets[a] and some of your young men as Nazirites.[b] Is this not the case, Israelites? [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

Amos 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 2:11

And I raised up of your sons for prophets
Such as Moses, Joshua, and the seventy elders, and others; not only to foretell things to come, but to teach and instruct the people in the doctrines and duties of religion, and to warn them of their sins, and the danger of them: and of your young men for Nazarites:
as Samson, Samuel, and others; whose vow not only obliged them from shaving their hair, but to abstain from drinking wine, and eating grapes, which the youthful age is inclined unto; but such grace was given them, as enabled them to deny themselves sensual gratifications, and to be examples of piety and constant attendance on the service of God, and instructing the people. The Targum is,

``of your young men for teachers;''
these were the spiritual mercies, as the former were the temporal ones, the Lord bestowed on these people, for the truth of which he appeals to them: [is it] not even thus, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord?
can ye deny it? the thing was too notorious to be contradicted.

Amos 2:11 In-Context

9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite as Israel advanced; his height was like the cedars, and he was as sturdy as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
10 And I brought you from the land of Egypt and led you 40 years in the wilderness in order to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is this not the case, Israelites? [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets: Do not prophesy.
13 Look, I am about to crush [you] in your place as a wagon full of sheaves crushes [grain].

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Am 7:14-15; Dt 18:18-19; Jr 1:4-5
  • [b]. Nm 6:1-21; Jdg 13:2-5; 1 Sm 1:11
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