The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib; but Israel doesn’t know, my people don’t consider.”
- KJV The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
- NKJV The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”
- NASB “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”
- NLT Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
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
Even dumb animals recognize their owner, yet Israel fails to know and consider its God. The verse indicts His people for a folly worse than that of beasts.
Overview
The comparison shames Judah: the ox and donkey instinctively know who feeds them, but God's people lack such basic discernment. 'Know' here implies covenant relationship and acknowledgment, not mere information. True knowledge of God is finally restored in Christ, in whom the Father is fully revealed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Jer 8:7Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
- Jer 4:22“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Isa 44:18They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
- Matt 13:13–15This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
- Isa 5:12At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
- Ps 94:8Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?
- Rom 1:28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- Isa 27:11When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
- Deut 32:28–29Israel is a nation devoid of counsel, with no understanding among them.
- 2 Pet 3:5But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
- Prov 6:6Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.
- Jer 9:3–6“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- Jer 10:14Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Jer 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Matt 13:19When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 1:3 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.