The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
Parallel translations
- WEB The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory feed, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.
- KJV The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
- NKJV Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
- NASB Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned feed, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
- NLT The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff blown away by the wind.
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 the working animals will eat seasoned, well-prepared fodder in that day of plenty. It matters because God's blessing extends to the whole of life, down to the livestock.
Overview
The promise of abundance is so lavish that oxen and donkeys enjoy choice winnowed feed. The detail emphasizes the completeness of God's coming provision. It evokes the comprehensive flourishing of the renewed creation, where God's blessing touches every part of life under His good rule.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 45:6For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
- Deut 25:4Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
- Luke 3:17His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- 1 Sam 8:12He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, to make his weapons of war, and to equip his chariots.
- 1 Cor 9:9–10For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
- Matt 3:12His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Exod 34:21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.
- Deut 21:4bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 30:24 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.