It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep.
Parallel Translations
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It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
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And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall rear a young cow, and two sheep;
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Isaiah 7:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 5:17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich.
- Jeremiah 39:10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
- Isaiah 17:2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken. They will be for flocks, which shall lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.
- Isaiah 37:30 “ ‘This shall be the sign to you. You will eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from it; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
- Isaiah 7:25 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 out of oxen, and for sheep to tread on.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He that before had a great number of cattle,…
He that before had a great number of cattle, shall be content with one cow and two sheep.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 7:21 And it shall come to pass in…
Isa 7:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
Ver. 21. A man shall nourish two sheep.] He that was wont to say, Mille meae Siculis errant in montibus agnae, {a} shall now be reduced to so great penury as to be glad of two sheep, and have scarce a young heifer left for his necessary subsistence, who was wont to have many ploughs going. They shall not now, as heretofore, "join house to house, and land to land"; they shall not keep race horses, or hunting dogs, &c.
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{a} Virg. Eclog.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This and the following verse contain either,
This and the following verse contain either,
1. A mitigation of the foregoing calamity, or some comfort for the remainders of the people, after the public devastation; or rather,
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2. A further declaration of the threatened desolation; which best agrees not only with the foregoing, but also with the following verses. So the sense of this verse is this, They who formerly used to keep great herds of cattle, and many flocks of sheep, shall esteem it a great happiness if they can keep but one cow and two sheep, to keep themselves from extremity of famine.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it shall come to pass in that day,....…
And it shall come to pass in that day,.... Not in the days of Hezekiah, after the destruction of Sennacherib's army, when there followed great fruitfulness and plenty, Isa 37:30 as Kimchi and Jarchi interpret it; but in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, after the destruction of Jerusalem, when some poor men were left in the land to till it, Jer 39:10 for of these, and not of rich men, are the following words to be understood:
that a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep; this seems to denote both the scarcity of men and cattle, through the ravages of the army of the Chaldeans; that there should not be large herds and flocks, only a single cow, and two or three sheep; and yet men should be so few, and families so thin, that these would be sufficient to support them comfortably.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Sheep - They who formerly used to keep great…
Sheep - They who formerly used to keep great herds of cattle, and many flocks of sheep, shall esteem it a happiness if they can keep but one cow and two sheep.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 7:21-25. These verses “contain an elegant and very…
Isa 7:21-25. These verses “contain an elegant and very expressive description of a country depopulated, and left to run wild, from its adjuncts and circumstances; the vineyards and corn-fields, before well cultivated, now overrun with briers and thorns; much grass, so that the few cattle that are left, a young cow and two sheep, have their full range, and abundant pasture; so as to yield milk in plenty to the scanty family of the owner: the thinly-scattered people living not on corn, wine, and oil, the produce of cultivation, but on milk and honey, the gifts of nature; and the whole land given up to the wild beasts; so that the miserable inhabitants are forced to go out armed with bows and arrows, either to defend themselves against the wild beasts, or to supply themselves with necessary food by hunting.” — Bishop Lowth.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain In that day - In the time specified in…
In that day - In the time specified in the previous verses - in the judgments that should be brought upon the land by the Egyptians and Assyrians.
A man shall nourish - Hebrew ‘Make to live:’ that is, he shall own, or feed.
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A young cow - The Hebrew denotes a heifer that gives milk. The state which is denoted by this is that of great poverty. Instead of being engaged in agriculture, of possessing great resources in that time, a man should depend, for the subsistence of himself and his family, on what a single cow and two sheep would yield. Probably this is intended also as a description of the general state of the nation, that it would be reduced to great poverty.
And two sheep - Two here seems to be used to denote a very small number. A man, that is, the generality of people, would be so reduced as to be able to purchase and keep no more.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain THE COMING DESOLATE STATE OF THE LAND OWING TO…
THE COMING DESOLATE STATE OF THE LAND OWING TO THE ASSYRIANS AND EGYPTIANS. (Isa 7:21-25)
nourish--that is, own.
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young cow--a heifer giving milk. Agriculture shall cease, and the land become one great pasturage.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21, 22. From such spoliations, as well as removals…
21, 22. From such spoliations, as well as removals of the population, agriculture ceases, and the land goes to rough pasturage. When cultivation in that land is neglected, the tendency is to briers and thorns and thistles. Tristram (Nat. Hist. Bible, p. 423) says, “The combined heat and dryness of the climate seem to develop a tendency to form thorns even in groups where we should least expect them.”
Shall nourish a young cow and two sheep — The idea is, amid great straits from invaders, a man shall do well if he shall be able to save alive this amount of stock. So the word “nourish” indicates that pasturage is abundant, and this shall secure milk, curds, etc., enough. One may preserve himself well if he may but save his stock. If these are taken from him, his peril is certain, because of the fewness of the people, and the neglect of tillage of the soil.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21, 22. The land having gone out of cultivation,…
21, 22. The land having gone out of cultivation, the sparse population is reduced to the pastoral life of the desert. Cf. ch. Isa_5:14; Isa_5:17, Isa_32:12-14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A man shall nourish a young cow, and two…
A man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; literally, two ewes. A stop having been put to cultivation, men shall return to the pastoral life, but shall not possess more than two or three head of cattle apiece, the Assyrians having swept off most of the beasts. Tiglath-Pileser, in his inscriptions, mentions his carrying off homed cattle and sheep to the amount of many thousands from the countries which he overran or conquered ("Records of the Past," vol. 5. pp. 49, 52).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.