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Read the Bible

King James Version

Isaiah 28:24

Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Agriculture;   Isaiah;   Judgment;   Parables;   Wisdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Social Duties;   Temperance;   Temperance-Intemperance;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Agriculture or Husbandry;   Ploughing;   Seed;  

Dictionaries:

- Easton Bible Dictionary - Agriculture;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Harrow;   Isaiah;   Parables;   Spices;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Harrow;   Isaiah, Book of;   Parable;   Untoward;   Wisdom;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Agriculture;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Vagabond;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Harrow;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Plow (and forms);   Plowman;   Sow (verb);   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Allegory;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Clod;   Harrow;   Isaiah;   Parable;   Plow;   Proverbs, Book of;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Agriculture;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Parable;  

Parallel Translations

English Revised Version
Doth the plowman plow continually to sow? doth he continually open and break the clods of his ground?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Is the plowman never done with plowing to sow, with the opening and harrowing of his ground?
The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible
Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?
Contemporary English Version
Farmers don't just plow and break up the ground.
Complete Jewish Bible
Does a farmer sowing keep plowing forever? Does he never stop breaking up and harrowing his land?
Darby Translation
Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow? Is he [all day] opening and breaking the clods of his land?
Easy-to-Read Version
Does a farmer plow his field all the time? No, he doesn't work the soil all the time.
American Standard Version
Doth he that ploweth to sow plow continually? doth he continually open and harrow his ground?
Bible in Basic English
Is the ploughman for ever ploughing? does he not get the earth ready and broken up for the seed?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Doth not the husbandman plowe all the day, and openeth and breaketh the clottes of his grounde, that he may sowe?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Doeth the plowe man plowe all the day, to sowe? doeth he open, and breake the clots of his ground?
George Lamsa Translation
Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and harrow his ground?
Good News Translation
Farmers don't constantly plow their fields and keep getting them ready for planting.
English Standard Version
Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
Hebrew Names Version
Does he who plows to sow plow continually? does he [continually] open and harrow his ground?
Update Bible Version
Does he that plows to sow plow continually? does he [continually] open and harrow his ground?
Webster's Bible Translation
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
World English Bible
Does he who plows to sow plow continually? does he [continually] open and harrow his ground?
Lexham English Bible
Is it all day that the plowman plows, opens to sow seed, harrows his ground?
Literal Translation
Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and break the clods of his ground?
New Century Version
A farmer does not plow his field all the time; he does not go on working the soil.
New English Translation
Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?
New International Version
When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
New King James Version
Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether he that erith, schal ere al dai, for to sowe, and schal be kerue, and purge his londe?
New Life Bible
Does the farmer plow all the time to plant seed? Does he keep on turning and digging up the ground?
New Revised Standard
Do those who plow for sowing plow continually? Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
All day long, doth the plowman plow for sowing? Doth he continue laying open and harrowing his soil?
Amplified Bible
Does the farmer plow all day to plant seed? Does he continually dig furrows and harrow his ground [after it is prepared]?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?
Christian Standard Bible®
Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed? Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
King James Version (1611)
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and breake the clods of his ground?
Douay-Rheims Bible
Shall the ploughman plough all the day to sow, shall he open and harrow his ground?
Revised Standard Version
Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? does he continually open and harrow his ground?
Young's Literal Translation
The whole day plougheth the ploughman to sow? He openeth and harroweth his ground!
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Goeth not the husbonde man euer in due season earnestly to his londe? he moweth & ploweth his grounde to sowe.
New International Version (1984)
When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil?
New American Standard Bible
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and break up his ground?
New Living Translation
Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

Contextual Overview

23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? 26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. 27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. 29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

break: Jeremiah 4:3, Hosea 10:11, Hosea 10:12

Reciprocal: Genesis 9:20 - an husbandman Genesis 47:23 - here is seed Exodus 28:3 - wise hearted Exodus 31:3 - the spirit of God Exodus 35:34 - Aholiab Mark 4:26 - as 1 Corinthians 3:9 - ye are God's 2 Timothy 2:6 - husbandman

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?.... Or, "every day"; he ploughs in order to sow; by ploughing he prepares the ground for sowing, that is his end in ploughing; and he may plough a whole day together when he is at it, but he does not plough every day in the year; he has other work to do besides ploughing, as is later mentioned; such as breaking of clods, sowing seed, and threshing the grain after it is ripe, and reaped, and gathered. The prophet signifies that the Lord, like a ploughman, had different sorts of work; he was not always doing one and the same thing; and particularly, that he would not be always admonishing and threatening men, and making preparation for his judgments, but in a little time he would execute them, signified by after metaphors:

doth he open and break the clods of his ground? he does, with a mallet or iron bar, or with the harrow; whereby the ground is made even, and so more fit for sowing. The Targum interprets the whole in a mystical sense, of the instructions of the prophets, thus,

"at all times the prophets prophesy to teach, if perhaps the ears of sinners may be opened to receive instruction;''

and it may be applied to the work of the Spirit of God upon men's hearts, by the ministry of the word: the heart of man is like the "fallow ground", hard and obdurate, barren and unfruitful; the ministry of the word is the "plough", and ministers are the "ploughmen"; but it is the Spirit of God that makes their ministrations useful, for the conviction of the mind, the pricking of the heart, and breaking it in pieces; see Jeremiah 4:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Doth the plowman ... - The question here asked implies that he does “not” plow all the day. The interrogative form is often the most emphatic mode of affirmation.

All day - The sense is, does he do nothing else but plow? Is this the only thing which is necessary to be done in order to obtain a harvest? The idea which the prophet intends to convey here is this. A farmer does not suppose that he can obtain a harvest by doing nothing else but plow. There is much else to be done. So it would be just as absurd to suppose that God would deal with his people always in the same manner, as it would be for the farmer to be engaged in nothing else but plowing.

Doth he open ... - That is, is he always engaged in opening, and breaking the clods of his field? There is much else to be done besides this. The word ‘open’ here refers to the furrows that are made by the plow. The earth is laid open as it were to the sunbeams, and to the showers of rain, and to the reception of seed. The word rendered ‘break’ (ישׁדד yshadēd) properly means “to harrow,” that is, to break up the clods by harrowing Job 39:10; Hosea 10:11.


 
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