For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
Parallel translations
- WEB For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow.
- KJV For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
- NKJV “For Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn calf; Now the Lord will let them forage Like a lamb in open country.
- NASB Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn cow, Will the Lord now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
- NLT Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the Lord feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel is as stubborn as an unruly heifer, so she cannot be gently shepherded. Her obstinacy hinders the blessing God would give.
Overview
The image of a stubborn heifer refusing the yoke captures Israel's persistent rebellion against God's guidance. Because she will not submit, she cannot be led like a lamb to safe pasture. The verse exposes the willfulness at the heart of Israel's sin and implies that her own hardness, not any failure in God, stands in the way of the care He longs to provide.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Sam 15:11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
- Jer 7:24Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Zech 7:11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Jer 3:6Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
- Jer 3:8She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Lev 26:33But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Isa 22:18roll you into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain—a disgrace to the house of your master.
- Isa 5:17Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.
- Jer 3:11And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
- Jer 14:7Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.
- Jer 8:5Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- Isa 7:21–25On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,
- Hos 11:7My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.
- Jer 5:6Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down, a wolf from the desert will ravage them. A leopard will lie in wait near their cities, and everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 4:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.