God’s Wonderful Advice

23 Listen and hear my voice.
Pay attention and hear what I say.
24 Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed?
Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin?
He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,
with spelt as their border.
26 His God teaches him order;
He instructs him.
27 Certainly black cumin is not threshed
with a threshing board,
and a cart wheel is not rolled over the cumin.
But black cumin is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Bread grain is crushed,
but is not threshed endlessly.
Though the wheel of the farmer’s cart rumbles,
his horses do not crush it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of Hosts.
He gives wonderful advice;
He gives great wisdom.(A)

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The God who Plows and Harvests

23 “Pay attention!
    Listen to what I have to say;
Pay attention,
    and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow all the time?
    Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing his field?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
    he scatters caraway[a] and sows cumin, doesn’t he?
He plants wheat in rows,
    barley in its designated place,
and feed for livestock[b] around its borders,[c] doesn’t he?
26 His God instructs him regarding the correct way,
    directing him how to plant.[d]

27 For caraway is not threshed with a sharp sledge,
    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin.
Instead, caraway is winnowed with a stick,
    and cumin with a rod.
28 It[e] must be ground;[f]
    one cannot keep threshing it forever.
Even if he drives his cart[g] and horses over it,
    he cannot crush it.
29 This insight also comes from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
    who is distinguished[h] in practical advice
        and[i] magnificent in sound wisdom.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:25 Or scatters black cumin
  2. Isaiah 28:25 Lit. and spelt; i.e. a grass grown and used as fodder
  3. Isaiah 28:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads its border; LXX reads your borders
  4. Isaiah 28:26 DSS MT lack how to plant
  5. Isaiah 28:28 I.e. grain; so 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsak reads And it
  6. Isaiah 28:28 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsak MT read must be ground for bread
  7. Isaiah 28:28 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector MT read the wheel of his cart
  8. Isaiah 28:29 So 1QIsaa; MT reads wonderful
  9. Isaiah 28:29 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and