Isaiah 28:24
New International Version
When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?

New Living Translation
Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?

English Standard Version
Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?

Berean Standard Bible
Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?

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

New King James Version
Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?

New American Standard Bible
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and break up his ground?

NASB 1995
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

NASB 1977
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

Legacy Standard Bible
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow his ground?

Amplified Bible
Does the farmer plow all day to plant seed? Does he continually dig furrows and harrow his ground [after it is prepared]?

Christian Standard Bible
Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed? Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed? Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?

American Standard Version
Doth he that ploweth to sow plow continually? doth he continually open and harrow his ground?

Contemporary English Version
Farmers don't just plow and break up the ground.

English Revised Version
Doth the plowman plow continually to sow? doth he continually open and break the clods of his ground?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Does a farmer go on plowing every day so he can plant? Does he continue to break up the soil and make furrows in the ground?

Good News Translation
Farmers don't constantly plow their fields and keep getting them ready for planting.

International Standard Version
Does he who plows for sowing plow all the time? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing his field?

Majority Standard Bible
Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?

NET Bible
Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?

New Heart English Bible
Does he who plows to sow plow continually? Does he keep turning the soil and breaking the clods?

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 keep turning the soil and breaking the clods?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Does the plowman plow the whole day to sow? He opens and harrows his ground!

Young's Literal Translation
The whole day plougheth the ploughman to sow? He openeth and harroweth his ground!

Smith's Literal Translation
Shall he ploughing, plough all the day to sow? shall he open and level his earth?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Shall the ploughman plough all the day to sow, shall he open and harrow his ground?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil?

New American Bible
Is the plowman forever plowing in order to sow, always loosening and harrowing the field?

New Revised Standard Version
Do those who plow for sowing plow continually? Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and harrow his ground?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Does a farmer plough all day to sow and turn over and break up his ground?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Is the plowman never done with plowing to sow, With the opening and harrowing of his ground?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Listen and Hear
23Listen and hear my voice. Pay attention and hear what I say. 24Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil? 25When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, and rye within its border.…

Cross References
Matthew 13:3-9
And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. / And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. / Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. ...

Mark 4:3-9
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. / And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. / Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. ...

Luke 8:5-8
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it. / Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture. / Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings. ...

James 5:7
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

1 Corinthians 3:6-9
I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. / So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. / He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. ...

Galatians 6:7-9
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. / The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. / Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Hebrews 6:7-8
For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. / But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.

John 4:35-38
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest. / Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. / For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ...

2 Corinthians 9:10
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Matthew 9:37-38
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. / Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”

Psalm 126:5-6
Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. / He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

Jeremiah 4:3
For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.

Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.

Proverbs 20:4
The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

Ecclesiastes 11:4-6
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap. / As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. / Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.


Treasury of Scripture

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

break

Jeremiah 4:3
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Hosea 10:11,12
And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods…

Jump to Previous
Break Breaking Broken Clods Continually Earth Farmer Ground Open Openeth Opening Plant Plougheth Ploughing Ploughman Plow Ploweth Plowing Plowman Plows Ready Seed Soil Sow Sowing Turn Turning Whole
Jump to Next
Break Breaking Broken Clods Continually Earth Farmer Ground Open Openeth Opening Plant Plougheth Ploughing Ploughman Plow Ploweth Plowing Plowman Plows Ready Seed Soil Sow Sowing Turn Turning Whole
Isaiah 28
1. The prophet threatens Ephraim for their pride and drunkenness
5. The residue shall be advanced in the kingdom of Christ
7. He rebukes their error
9. Their unwillingness to learn
14. And their security
16. Christ the sure foundation is promised
17. Their security shall be tried
23. They are incited to the consideration of God's providence














Does the plowman plow for planting every day?
The imagery of the "plowman" is deeply rooted in the agrarian culture of ancient Israel. The Hebrew word for plowman, "ḥōrēš," signifies one who tills the ground, preparing it for sowing. This metaphor is used to illustrate the divine wisdom and order in God's creation and His dealings with humanity. Just as a farmer does not plow indefinitely, God’s actions are purposeful and timely. The rhetorical question suggests that there is a season for every activity under heaven, echoing Ecclesiastes 3:1. The plowman’s work is not endless; it is directed towards a specific goal—planting. This reflects the divine principle that God’s judgments and disciplines are not perpetual but are intended to bring about a fruitful outcome.

Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?
The process of "loosening" and "harrowing" the soil involves breaking up the ground to make it suitable for planting. The Hebrew term for "loosen," "pāraḏ," implies separation or division, while "harrow," "sāḏaḏ," refers to the act of leveling or smoothing the soil. These agricultural practices are essential for a successful harvest, symbolizing preparation and readiness. In a spiritual context, this can be seen as God’s way of preparing the hearts of His people, removing hardness and making them receptive to His word. The question posed in this verse emphasizes that just as a farmer does not endlessly prepare the soil without planting, God’s preparatory work in our lives is not without purpose. It reassures believers that God’s discipline is temporary and aimed at producing a harvest of righteousness, as seen in Hebrews 12:11. This verse encourages trust in God’s timing and His ultimate plan for growth and fruitfulness in the lives of His people.

(24) Doth the plowman plow all day . . .?--Better, every day. Ploughing represents naturally, as in Jeremiah 4:3, the preparatory discipline by which the spiritual soil is rendered fit for the sower's work. It is a means, and not an end, and is, therefore, in its very nature but for a season. To a nation passing through this stage, Assyrian invaders scoring their long furrows visibly on the surface of the land, the parable gave the hope that this was preparing the way for the seed-time of a better harvest.

Verse 24. - Doth the plowman plow all day? The Church of God, go often called a vineyard, is here compared to an arable field, and the processes by which God educates and disciplines his Church are compared to those employed by man in the cultivation of such a piece of ground, and the obtaining of a harvest, from it. First of all, the ground must be ploughed, the face of the earth "opened" and the "clods broken." This, however, does not go on forever; it is for an object - that the seed may be sown; and, as soon as the ground is fit for the sowing to take place, the preparation of the soil ceases. Doth he open and break, etc.? Harrowing succeeds to ploughing in the natural order of things, the object of the harrowing being to break and pulverize the clods.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Does the plowman
יַחֲרֹ֥שׁ (ya·ḥă·rōš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2790: To cut in, engrave, plow, devise

plow
הַחֹרֵ֖שׁ (ha·ḥō·rêš)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2790: To cut in, engrave, plow, devise

for planting
לִזְרֹ֑עַ (liz·rō·a‘)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2232: To sow, to disseminate, plant, fructify

every
הֲכֹ֣ל (hă·ḵōl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

day?
הַיּ֔וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

Does he continuously loosen
יְפַתַּ֥ח (yə·p̄at·taḥ)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6605: To open wide, to loosen, begin, plough, carve

and harrow
וִֽישַׂדֵּ֖ד (wî·śad·dêḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7702: To abrade, harrow a, field

the soil?
אַדְמָתֽוֹ׃ (’aḏ·mā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 127: Ground, land


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 28:24 Does he who plows to sow plow (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 28:23
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