Isaiah 28:24
ESV
Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
NIV
When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
NASB
Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and break up his ground?
CSB
Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed? Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
NLT
Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
KJV
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
NKJV
Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
What does Isaiah 28:24 mean?
God warned Jerusalem's leaders about coming judgment for their unfaithfulness (Isaiah 28:17–18). Now Isaiah begins describing the best practices for farming. Most people in his agricultural society would be familiar with these. He begins by asking whether a farmer just keeps plowing and ripping up the ground? Or does he only do that for a while before moving on to the next stage of the process?Plowing in the ancient world was essentially just dragging a pointed stick to break up the ground. This was usually done using animals like oxen. The farmer would then harrow the ground by dragging logs over the plowed ground to smooth it out for planting.
Isaiah's point is that nobody plows for the sake of plowing alone. There's a future purpose behind it. His larger lesson is not immediately clear. Commentators suggest two main possibilities. One is showing Jerusalem's leaders that even a simple farmer knows to follow God's design; so, too, should they follow the Lord's direction for their work. Another is that this expresses hope: God will not tear and break His people forever (Psalm 129:2–3), but only for a time and for a reason (Jeremiah 30:3).
