Isaiah 28:23-29
New International Version
23 Listen(A) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(B) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(C)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[a]
barley(D) in its plot,[b]
and spelt(E) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(F) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(G) with a sledge,(H)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(I)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(J) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(K)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(L)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 28:23-29
The Message
23-26 Listen to me now.
Give me your closest attention.
Do farmers plow and plow and do nothing but plow?
Or harrow and harrow and do nothing but harrow?
After they’ve prepared the ground, don’t they plant?
Don’t they scatter dill and spread cumin,
Plant wheat and barley in the fields
and raspberries along the borders?
They know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Their God is their teacher.
27-29 And at the harvest, the delicate herbs and spices,
the dill and cumin, are treated delicately.
On the other hand, wheat is threshed and milled, but still not endlessly.
The farmer knows how to treat each kind of grain.
He’s learned it all from God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
who knows everything about when and how and where.
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson