Amos 2:9-3:2

New Living Translation

⁹ “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.
¹⁰ 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.
¹¹ 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.
¹² “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
    and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’

¹³ “So I will make you groan
    like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
¹⁴ Your fastest runners will not get away.
    The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
¹⁵     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.
¹⁶ On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
    will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
    says the Lord.

² “From among all the families on the earth,
    I have been intimate with you alone.
That is why I must punish you
    for all your sins.”