Amos 2:11 (the presence of holy speakers and holy doers)

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.
And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites (rsv)/ I chose some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. The Hebrew verb has the meaning of “constitute,” “appoint,”*so it is possible to translate: “I appointed some of your sons to be prophets, and some of your young men to be Nazirites” (TT). On the other hand, the Hebrew “appoint” includes both “call”*and “choose.” Thus, a rendering “I called …” or I chose is equally possible.

(descriptive phrase for revealing God’s will and word) is therefore usually the best: “who speaks the things of God,” “interpreter for God,” “God’s sent-word person,” etc. The problem with descriptive phrases is keeping them concise as well as accurate. This is especially necessary with such words as prophet which occur so frequently in the Bible.*(See also the restructuring in Translating Amos, Section 2.3.)

The fourth action of God was the gift of spiritual leaders. God raised up prophets to proclaim his message to Israel and Nazirites to serve as models of dedication to God. With prophets and Nazirites, God provided guidance to Israel for their life in the land. Nazirites vowed abstinence from alcoholic beverages, from cutting their hair, and from contact with corpses (Num 6:1–21).