Isaiah 1:3

Isaiah 1:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
• New International Version (NIV)The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."
• New King James Version (NKJV)The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”

Context of Isaiah 1:3

1This is a vision that God showed to Isaiah, the son of Amoz. It was a message about his country, Judah, and the city of Jerusalem. God showed it to Isaiah at the time when Uzziah, then Jotham, then Ahaz and then Hezekiah were kings of Judah. 2Hear the Lord, those who live in heaven! Listen to him, you people on the earth! Listen carefully because the Lord has spoken! He says, ‘I have helped my children to grow. I took care of them but now they have turned against me! An ox knows its master. A donkey knows the place where its master feeds it. But Israel's people do not know me. My people do not understand me.’ 4Oh! Israel, you are a nation of people who do not obey me. The people are guilty of many evil things. Their sins are like a heavy weight on their backs. They are a family of people who do wicked things. They have turned away from the Lord, the Holy God of Israel. They have turned their backs against him. 5You continue to fight against God. Why do you do that? God will continue to punish you. You are weak and you hurt all over. Your mind and your body have great pain.

Isaiah 1:3 word by word

יָדַ֥ע שׁוֹר֙ קֹנֵ֔הוּ וַחֲמ֖וֹר אֵב֣וּס בְּעָלָ֑יו יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔ע עַמִּ֖י לֹ֥א הִתְבּוֹנָֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The oxשׁוֹרshôr · cattleH7794
• knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• his ownerקָנָהqânâh · to buyH7069
• and the assחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
• his master’sבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167
• cribאֵבוּס'êbûs · cribH18
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• doth not considerבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995

Cross-references for Isaiah 1:3

• Proverbs 6:6Learn a lesson from the ants, you lazy person! See how hard they work.
• Jeremiah 8:7Even birds know when it is time for them to move to a different place. That is true for storks, doves, swallows and cranes. Birds know when it is time to return, but my people do not know my laws.
• Isaiah 5:12You have wild parties with plenty of music and wine. You make music with your lyres, harps, tambourines and flutes. But you do not understand the things that the Lord is doing. You do not see the things that he has made.
• Isaiah 27:11When the branches become dry, they break off the tree. Women will take the sticks and they will make fires with them. That is what these people are like. They do not understand anything. So their Maker will not help them or be kind to them.
• Isaiah 44:18People like that are stupid. They do not understand anything. They cannot see the truth, as if they are blind. Their minds cannot think properly.
• Deuteronomy 32:28Israel is a nation without wisdom. They do not understand what will happen to them.
• Psalms 94:8Think again, all you fools among the people! Stupid people, become wise!
• Jeremiah 4:22The Lord says, ‘My people are fools. They do not know me. They are like children who do not know anything. They understand nothing. They are very clever at doing evil things. But they do not know how to do what is good.’
• Jeremiah 9:3The Lord says, ‘The tongues of these people speak lies, like the bows of soldiers shoot arrows. They have become powerful in the land, but they have used lies to do that. They do more and more evil things, and they do not respect me.
• Jeremiah 10:8The people of those nations are stupid and foolish. They think that wooden idols can teach them something!
• Matthew 13:13The reason I use stories to talk to other people is this: These people look. But they do not really see clearly. They hear the words. But they do not really understand.
• Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.
• 2 Peter 3:5These people choose to forget things that they really know. A long time ago, God spoke his word and he made the sky and the earth. He caused land to come up through water. He made the land to be separate from the water.

Commentaries on Isaiah 1:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The ox knoweth - An amplification of the gross insensibility of the disobedient Jews, by comparing them with the most heavy and stupid of all animals, yet not so insensible as they. Bochart has well illustrated the comparison, and shown the peculiar force of it. "He sets them lower than the beasts, and even than the most stupid of all beasts, for there is scarcely any more so than the ox and the ass. Yet these acknowledge their master; they know the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The ox … - The design of this comparison is to show the great stupidity and ingratitude of the Jews. Even the least sagacious and most stupid of the animals, destitute as they are of reason and conscience, evince knowledge anal submission far more than the professed people of God. The ox is a well known domestic animal, remarkable for patient willingness to toil, and for submission to his owner. Knoweth his owner - Recognizes, or is submissive to him. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The ox knows its owner: Even an animal recognizes the one who feeds and cares for it. But Judah did not recognize or obey the Lord in this way. Even so, despite their rebellion, God still spoke to them as “my people.” This shows his continued grace (undeserved kindness) toward them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. (Jr 8:7). crib--the stall where it is fed (Pr 14:4). Spiritually the word and ordinances. Israel--The whole nation, Judah as well as Israel, in the restricted sense. God regards His covenant-people in their designed unity. not know--namely, his Owner, as the parallelism requires; that is, not recognize Him as such (Ex 19:5, equivalent to "my people," Joh 1:10, 11). consider--attend to his Master (Is 41:8), notwithstanding the spiritual food which He…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 1:3

• Blindness
• Church
• Crib
• Godlessness
• Instinct
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Ass
• Convert
• Crib
• Eat
• Fade
• Harlot
• Isaiah, The Book of

Commentaries on Isaiah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings