Amos 2:12 kjv
But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
Amos 2:12 nkjv
"But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, 'Do not prophesy!'
Amos 2:12 niv
"But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
Amos 2:12 esv
"But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy.'
Amos 2:12 nlt
"But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
and you commanded the prophets, 'Shut up!'
Amos 2 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference (Short Note) |
|---|---|---|
| Num 6:1-4 | The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel... When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink..." | Original law for Nazirite vow, emphasizing abstinence from wine. |
| Lev 10:8-9 | The LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, "Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die." | Prohibition of alcohol for priests in service, reinforcing holiness. |
| Isa 5:11 | Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who tarry late into the evening till wine inflames them! | Prophetic woe against drunkenness, a common sin. |
| Isa 5:20 | Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! | Condemnation of moral inversion, relating to subverting purity. |
| Jer 7:25-26 | From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to you... but they did not listen... they stiffened their neck... | God persistently sent prophets, but Israel was rebellious. |
| Jer 11:21 | Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, "Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die..." | Persecution and silencing of prophets, directly threatening. |
| Jer 26:20-23 | There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim... and King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. | Example of a prophet killed for his message. |
| Ezek 3:26-27 | I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute... But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth... | God's control over prophetic speech, contrasting human attempts to silence. |
| Mic 2:6 | "Do not preach!" —thus they preach—"one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us." | Contemporary demand to stop prophetic pronouncements of judgment. |
| Mic 2:11 | If a man should go about and utter wind and falsehood: "I will prophesy to you of wine and strong drink," he would be the preacher for this people! | Israel preferred false prophets who indulged their desires. |
| 2 Chr 36:15-16 | The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion... But they kept ridiculing the messengers of God and despising his words... | Israel's long history of rejecting God's messengers and words. |
| Neh 9:26 | Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you... | Confession of Israel's history of killing prophets. |
| Psa 78:40-41 | How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! They turned back and tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel. | Repeated rebellion and grieving God. |
| Matt 23:34-37 | Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify... that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth... | Jesus condemns Jerusalem for persecuting prophets throughout history. |
| Luke 11:49-51 | Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute"... from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah... | Echoes the history of prophets being killed by God's people. |
| Acts 7:51-53 | "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit... Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" | Stephen's speech highlighting consistent resistance to God's Spirit and prophets. |
| 2 Tim 4:3-4 | For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions... | Describes a future desire to reject sound doctrine, paralleling Amos. |
| Rom 1:28 | And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. | Rejection of God leading to depraved actions. |
| 2 Thess 2:10-11 | ...because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false... | Consequences of rejecting the truth: delusion and false belief. |
| Heb 1:1-2 | Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son... | God's consistent method of speaking through prophets before Christ. |
Amos 2 verses
Amos 2 12 Meaning
This verse sharply condemns Israel's actions that directly undermine God's holy institutions and divine revelation. It accuses them of corrupting Nazirites, individuals consecrated to God through specific vows of abstinence and purity, by forcing them to drink wine. Furthermore, it charges them with silencing the prophets, God's chosen spokesmen, by commanding them not to deliver His message. These acts demonstrate a profound spiritual rebellion against the Lord and a deliberate rejection of His paths of holiness and truth.
Amos 2 12 Context
Amos chapter 2 continues God's pronouncement of judgment, transitioning from surrounding nations to the heart of His covenant people, Judah (Amos 2:4-5), and especially Israel (Amos 2:6-16), the northern kingdom to whom Amos primarily prophesied. The chapter establishes a pattern: a litany of their transgressions, followed by a direct accusation and a promise of severe judgment. Verses 9-11 detail God's past faithfulness and gracious acts towards Israel—delivering them from Egypt, destroying the Amorites for them, and raising up Nazirites and prophets. This highlights that Israel's sin is not merely neglect but a deliberate and ungrateful rebellion against a benevolent God. Verse 12 directly follows this recitation of God's grace, making their actions even more egregious by contrasting them with what God had provided. Historically, Israel at this time, during the reign of Jeroboam II (mid-8th century BC), was experiencing relative political stability and economic prosperity, but this masked profound social injustice, moral decay, and religious hypocrisy, as exposed by Amos.
Amos 2 12 Word Analysis
"But you" (וְאַתֶּם - və’attem): The conjunction "but" marks a sharp contrast, emphatically shifting from God's gracious actions in verses 9-11 to Israel's reprehensible response. The pronoun "you" is plural and emphatic, highlighting the collective and deliberate responsibility of the nation, making it a direct and personal accusation. It stresses their culpability, especially against the backdrop of God's beneficence.
"made... drink wine" (הִשְׁקֵיתֶם יַיִן - hashqeitem yayin): The verb "made drink" (Hiphil conjugation of shaqah) is causative, meaning they actively caused or compelled the Nazirites to consume wine. It wasn't passive acceptance but an intentional act of leading them astray, violating their vows. This signifies a deliberate effort to corrupt sacred purity. "Wine" (יַיִן - yayin) was specifically prohibited for Nazirites, making its consumption a direct breaking of their vow (Num 6:3-4).
"the Nazirites" (הַנְּזִרִים - hannesirim): From the root nazar, meaning "to separate, dedicate." Nazirites were individuals, male or female, who voluntarily took a special vow of consecration to the Lord, involving a period of abstention from grape products, not cutting their hair, and avoiding contact with the dead (Num 6). They were a visible sign of God's holiness and a challenge to a compromising society. Their corruption by the Israelites demonstrated a contempt for God's holiness and an active effort to bring what was set apart into defilement.
"and commanded" (וַתְצַוּוּ - vatətsavvu): This verb (Piel conjugation of tsavah) implies a strong, authoritative directive or command. It signifies that Israel's rejection of the prophets was not a casual dismissal but an overt, forceful decree to silence them, a tyrannical act against the word of God. This indicates direct and hostile opposition.
"the prophets" (לַנְּבִיאִים - lanəvi'im): These were God's spokesmen, chosen to deliver His messages of warning, rebuke, and instruction to His people. They stood as the voice of divine truth amidst national deviation. To command them not to prophesy was to silence God Himself, preventing His revelation from being heard and actively encouraging ignorance and disobedience.
"saying, 'You shall not prophesy!'" (לֵאמֹר לֹא תִּנָּבְאוּ! - le'mor Lo tinnabe'u!): This is a direct quote of Israel's forceful command. The phrase "you shall not prophesy" uses a strong negative command, highlighting their absolute rejection of prophetic ministry. This was an attempt to stop the flow of divine revelation and conviction, demonstrating a profound hatred for the truth and a preference for spiritual darkness. It allowed them to continue in their sinful ways without accountability or discomfort.
Amos 2 12 Bonus Section
The prophetic message of Amos 2:12 contains a significant polemic against the pervasive antinomianism and syncretism present in Israel. The attempt to corrupt Nazirites, who embody separation (holiness) to God, was a direct assault on the very concept of qadosh (holy) as distinct from the common or profane. It challenged God's absolute moral standards by eroding the commitment of those set apart for Him. Furthermore, the silencing of prophets directly opposed the theocratic nature of Israel, where God spoke directly through His chosen agents. This amounted to a self-proclaimed autonomy from divine authority, placing human will above God's express commands. By trying to dictate who could speak for God and what message was acceptable, Israel effectively attempted to domesticate God, reducing Him to a deity subservient to their comfort and sinful desires, similar to pagan deities. This rebellious attitude mirrored their broader societal injustices and served as a grave illustration of the people's "itching ears" that preferred flattery over truth.
Amos 2 12 Commentary
Amos 2:12 unveils Israel's egregious rebellion against God through two pivotal actions: the deliberate corruption of Nazirites and the forceful silencing of prophets. By compelling those consecrated to holiness (Nazirites) to break their vows, Israel demonstrated contempt for divine purity and the visible signs of devotion to God. This was not mere passive disregard, but an active, aggressive defilement of sacred living, symbolic of their pervasive spiritual corruption. Concurrently, their command to the prophets—God's direct messengers—to cease speaking underscores a profound hatred for God's truth and a willful desire to suppress conviction. They preferred the comfort of unchallenging falsehoods or silence over the unsettling reality of divine judgment and moral rectification. These dual transgressions represent a foundational attack on the twin pillars of God's self-revelation: the call to personal holiness and the clarity of His spoken word. Their actions paved the way for a deeper spiritual darkness and inevitable judgment, for they had chosen to resist God's gracious attempts to lead them to repentance and preserve their way of life.
- Example for Practical Usage: In today's context, this verse serves as a warning against cultural pressures that compel believers to compromise their sacred commitments (like a Nazirite vow), and against societal or religious climates that seek to silence the clear, uncompromised preaching of God's Word, especially regarding uncomfortable truths about sin and judgment.