New King James Version
Isaiah 1:3
3The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
Context of Isaiah 1:3
1The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” 4Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
Read all of Isaiah 1Isaiah 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 6:6Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,
- Jeremiah 8:7“Even the stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
- Isaiah 5:12The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the Lord, Nor consider the operation of His hands.
- Isaiah 27:11When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; The women come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no understanding; Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, And He who formed them will show them no favor.
- Isaiah 44:18They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
- Deuteronomy 32:28“For they are a nation void of counsel, Nor is there any understanding in them.
- Psalms 94:8Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise?
- Jeremiah 4:22“For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.”
- Jeremiah 9:3“And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
- Matthew 13:13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
- Romans 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
- 2 Peter 3:5For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in 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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries