Amos 2:9-16
Amos 2:9-16 New King James Version (NKJV)
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite. I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the LORD. “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’ “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 The Message (MSG)
“In contrast, I was always on your side. I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years And then handed you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training in holiness. Isn’t this so, Israel?” GOD’s Decree. “But you made the youth-in-training break training, and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’ You’re too much for me. I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point. I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded, creaking and groaning. “When I go into action, what will you do? There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run. The strength of the strong won’t count. Fighters won’t make it. Skilled archers won’t make it. Fast runners won’t make it. Chariot drivers won’t make it. Even the bravest of all your warriors Won’t make it. He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.” GOD’s Decree.
Amos 2:9-16 King James Version (KJV)
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Though his height was like the height of cedars And he was strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below. It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And I led you in the wilderness forty years That you might take possession of the land of the Amorite. Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets And some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’ Behold, I am weighted down beneath you As a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves. Flight will perish from the swift, And the stalwart will not strengthen his power, Nor the mighty man save his life. He who grasps the bow will not stand his ground, The swift of foot will not escape, Nor will he who rides the horse save his life. Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 New Century Version (NCV)
“But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were tall like cedar trees and as strong as oaks— I destroyed them completely. It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt and led you for forty years through the desert so I could give you the land of the Amorites. I made some of your children to be prophets and some of your young people to be Nazirites. People of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and told the prophets not to prophesy. Now I will make you get stuck, as a wagon loaded with grain gets stuck. No one will escape, not even the fastest runner. Strong people will not be strong enough; warriors will not be able to save themselves. Soldiers with bows and arrows will not stand and fight, and even fast runners will not get away; soldiers on horses will not escape alive. At that time even the bravest warriors will run away without their armor,” says the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 American Standard Version (ASV)
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah. But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself; and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.
Amos 2:9-16 New International Version (NIV)
“Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. I brought you up out of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites. “I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths. Is this not true, people of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. “Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain. The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life. The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life. Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶“Yet it was I [not the false gods] who destroyed the Amorite before them, Though his height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below. “Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, And I led you forty years through the wilderness That you might possess the land of the Amorite. “Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets [who gave you My revelation], And some of your young men to be Nazirites (dedicated ones). Is this not true, O you children of Israel?” says the LORD. [Num 6:1-8] “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink [despite their vows] And commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’ “Behold, I am weighted down beneath you As a cart that is weighted down when it is full of sheaves. “Flight will be lost to the swift [so they will be unable to escape], And the strong shall not strengthen nor maintain his power, Nor shall the mighty man save his own life. “He who handles the bow will not stand his ground, The one who is swift of foot will not escape, Nor will he who rides the horse save his life [from the invading army]. “Even the bravest among the warriors shall flee naked on that day,” says the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 New Living Translation (NLT)
“But as my people watched, I destroyed the Amorites, though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed the fruit on their branches and dug out their roots. It was I who rescued you from Egypt and led you through the desert for forty years, so you could possess the land of the Amorites. I chose some of your sons to be prophets and others to be Nazirites. Can you deny this, my people of Israel?” asks the LORD. “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine, and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’ “So I will make you groan like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain. Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves. The archers will not stand their ground. The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape. Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves. On that day the most courageous of your fighting men will drop their weapons and run for their lives,” says the LORD.
Amos 2:9-16 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’ “Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the LORD.