Isaiah 7:25
◄  Isaiah 7:25  ►
New International Version (©2011)
As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

New Living Translation (©2007)
No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.

English Standard Version (©2001)
And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
You will not go to all the hills that were once tilled with a hoe, for fear of the thorns and briers. Those hills will be places for oxen to graze and for sheep to trample.

International Standard Version (©2012)
As for all the hills that used to be cultivated with a hoe, you won't go there, because you'll fear iron briars and thorns. Nevertheless, those hills will be reserved as a pasture where cattle will feed and where sheep will graze."

NET Bible (©2006)
They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
And you will no longer be able to go to all the hills which used to be cultivated because they will be filled with briars and thorns. It will be a place for turning oxen loose and letting sheep run."

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
And on all hills that were dug with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be a range for oxen, and a place for sheep to tread.

American King James Version
And on all hills that shall be dig with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

American Standard Version
And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And as for all the hills that shall be raked with a rake, the fear of thorns and briers shall not come thither, but they shall be for the ox to feed on, and the lesser cattle to tread upon.

Darby Bible Translation
And all mountains that have been dug up with the hoe thither will they not come, from fear of briars and thorns; and they shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of small cattle.

English Revised Version
And all the hills that were digged with the mattock; thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

Webster's Bible Translation
And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

World English Bible
All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep."

Young's Literal Translation
And all the hills that with a mattock are kept in order, Thither cometh not the fear of brier and thorn, And it hath been for the sending forth of ox, And for the treading of sheep!'

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:17-25 Let those who will not believe the promises of God, expect to hear the alarms of his threatenings; for who can resist or escape his judgments? The Lord shall sweep all away; and whomsoever he employs in any service for him, he will pay. All speaks a sad change of the face of that pleasant land. But what melancholy change is there, which sin will not make with a people? Agriculture would cease. Sorrows of every kind will come upon all who neglect the great salvation. If we remain unfruitful under the means of grace, the Lord will say, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 25. - On all hills that shall be digged; rather, that shall have been digged in former times, whether for corn cultivation or for any other. There shall not come thither the fear of briers (so Ewald and Kay). But almost all other commentators translate, "Thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers," etc. The briers and thorns of the East tear the clothes and the flesh. It shall be; i.e. "each such place shall be." For the sending forth of oxen; rather, for the sending in of oxen. Men shall send their cattle into them, as alone able to penetrate the jungle without hurt. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock,.... Which could not be ploughed with a plough, but used to be dug with a mattock or spade, and then sowed with corn:

there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns; where thorns and briers used not to grow, and where there was no fear or danger of being overrun with them, as the vineyards in the valleys and champaign country; yet those places should become desolate in another way; or rather, there shall be now no fences made of briers and thorns, which deter cattle from entering into fields and vineyards thus fenced:

but it shall be for the setting forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle; there being no fence of briers and thorns to keep them out, cattle both of the greater and lesser sort should get into the corn, and feed upon it, and make such places desolate, where much pains were taken to cultivate them. The Targum is,

"it shall be for a place of lying down of oxen, and for a place of dwelling of flocks of sheep;''

not for pastures, but for folds for them; though the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, suggest these places should become pastures; and therefore some understand this as a prophecy of a change in the country for the better, and of the great fruitfulness of it after the Jews' return from the Babylonish captivity.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

25. shall be—rather, "were once."

digged—in order to plant and rear vines (Isa 5:6).

there shall not come—that is, none shall come who fear thorns, seeing that thorns shall abound on all sides [Maurer]. Otherwise, "Thou shalt not come for fear of thorns" [Gesenius]. Only cattle shall be able to penetrate the briery ground.

lesser cattle—sheep and goats.

Isaiah 7:25 Parallel Commentaries

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Judgment to Come
…23And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand sliver coins, it shall even be for briers and thorns. 24With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25And on all hills that shall be dig with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Isaiah 5:17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.
Isaiah 7:19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.
Isaiah 7:24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.
Hosea 4:16 The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the LORD pasture them like lambs in a meadow?
Zephaniah 2:6 The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks.