Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets.
Parallel Translations
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Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets.
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That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.
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Whose oxen are well laden; with no breach, and no going forth, and no outcry in our broad places;
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Psalms 144:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 28:7 Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways.
- Zechariah 8:3-5 Yahweh says: “I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, ‘The Holy Mountain.’ ” Yahweh of Armies says: “Old men and old women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age. The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.”
- Deuteronomy 28:25 Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Judges 5:8 They chose new gods. Then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
- Judges 6:3 So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came up against them.
- Judges 6:6 Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 13:17-23 The raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual; another company turned the way to Beth Horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears”; but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, each man to sharpen his own plowshare, mattock, ax, and sickle. The price was one payim each to sharpen mattocks, plowshares, pitchforks, axes, and goads. So it came to pass in the day of battle, that neither sword nor spear was found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. The garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
- 1 Samuel 31:7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
- Isaiah 24:11 There is a crying in the streets because of the wine. All joy is darkened. The mirth of the land is gone.
- Jeremiah 13:17-19 But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. My eye will weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because Yahweh’s flock has been taken captive. Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves. Sit down, for your crowns have come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the South are shut up, and there is no one to open them. Judah is carried away captive: all of them. They are wholly carried away captive.
- Jeremiah 14:2 “Judah mourns, and its gates languish. They sit in black on the ground. The cry of Jerusalem goes up.
- Jeremiah 14:18 If I go out into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! If I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.’ ”
- Lamentations 1:4-6 The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to the solemn assembly. All her gates are desolate. Her priests sigh. Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness. Her adversaries have become the head. Her enemies prosper; for Yahweh has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions. Her young children have gone into captivity before the adversary. All majesty has departed from the daughter of Zion. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture. They have gone without strength before the pursuer.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 14. Our oxen, etc. The Hebrew word סבל, sabal,…
14. Our oxen, etc. The Hebrew word סבל, sabal, is properly to carry. Accordingly some understand מסובלים, mesubbalim, to mean robust, מסבלים, burdened, viz. with flesh, according to Pagninus, who has onusti carne. The root is סכל, and the form is the pual participle, which occurs only in this place. Compensis has paraphrased it: santi et ferendis oneribus apti. Perhaps burdened oxen may be a phrase equivalent to our beasts of burden such as are strong and adapted to carry burdens; and here the prayer of the Psalmist is, that they may be eminently fitted for this service.” — Phillips
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He attributeth not only the great commodities, but even…
He attributeth not only the great commodities, but even the least also to God’s favor.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 144:14 [That] our oxen [may be] strong to…
Psa 144:14 [That] our oxen [may be] strong to labour; [that there be] no breaking in, nor going out; that [there be] no complaining in our streets.
Ver. 14. Nor going out] viz. To encounter the enemy, or to be led into captivity.
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No complaining] No outcries but harvest homes.
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 To labour, Heb. laden, either with flesh and fat,…
To labour, Heb. laden, either with flesh and fat, as many understand it; or, as others, with young: but then the foregoing word is not to be rendered
oxen, but cows, as the same word and in the same masculine gender is used Deu 7:13. And so this agrees best with the former prayer for the sheep, Psa 144:13, and he wisheth the same blessing of fruitfulness both for greater and smaller cattle.
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No breaking in, to wit, of enemies invading the land, or assaulting our cities, and making breaches in their walls.
Nor going out, to wit, of our people; either out of the towns and cities, to fight with an invading enemy; or out of the land into captivity.
No complaining; or, no outcry, or howling, for any sad tidings, or public grievances or calamities.
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 That our oxen may be strong to labour,.... To…
That our oxen may be strong to labour,.... To draw carriages, to plough with, and to tread out the corn: or "may be burdened" (w); fit to carry burdens; or burdened with flesh, be plump and fat, and in good condition to work; or burdened with young, as some (x) understand it, and then it must be meant of cows, as the word is used, Deu 7:13; and so here an increase of kine is wished for, as of sheep before. Ministers of the word are compared to oxen for their patience in suffering, and their laboriousness in working, Co1 9:9, Ti1 5:17; and happy is it for the churches of Christ when their ministers are laborious ones; are strong to labour, and do labour, in the word and doctrine; stand fast in the faith, and quit themselves like men, and are strong;
that there be no breaking in: of the enemy into the land to invade it, into cities and houses to plunder and spoil them;
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nor going out: of the city to meet the enemy and fight with him, peace and not war is desirable; or no going out of one's nation into captivity into a foreign country, as Kimchi; or no breaking in to folds and herds, and leading out and driving away cattle, to the loss of the owners thereof. Some (y) understand both these of abortion, of any violent rupture of the womb, and an immature birth;
that there be no complaining in our streets; on account of famine, pestilence, the sword, violence, and oppression; or no crying (z), no mournful cry or howling and shrieking on account of the enemy being at hand, and just ready to enter in, or being there, killing, plundering, and spoiling.
(w) "onusti", Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus; "onerarii", so some in Vatablus; "onerati", Schmidt; "loden", Ainsworth, (x) So Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 295. (y) lbid. (z) "clamor", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
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 Breaking in - Of enemies invading the land, or…
Breaking in - Of enemies invading the land, or assaulting our cities, and making breaches in their walls. Going out - Of our people, either out of the cities to fight with an invading enemy: or out of the land into captivity.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. Our oxen may be strong to labour]…
Verse 14. Our oxen may be strong to labour] We have not only an abundance of cattle; but they are of the most strong and vigorous breed.
No breaking in] So well ordered is the police of the kingdom, that there are no depredations, no robbers, house-breakers, or marauding parties, in the land; no sudden incursions of neighbouring tribes or banditti breaking into fields or houses, carrying away property, and taking with them the people to sell them into captivity: there is no such breaking in, and no such going out, in the nation. My enemies are either become friends, and are united with me in political interests; or are, through fear, obliged to stand aloof.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That our oxen may be strong to labour -…
That our oxen may be strong to labour - Margin, “able to bear burdens;” or, “laden with flesh.” The Hebrew is simply loaded or laden: that is, with a burden; or, with flesh; or, as Gesenius renders it, with young. The latter idea would best suit the connection - that of cattle producing abundantly or multiplying.
That there be no breaking in, nor going out - No breaking in of other cattle into enclosed grounds, and no escape of those which are shut up for pasture. That property may be safe everywhere. The image is that of security, peace, order, prosperity.
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That there be no complaining in our streets - literally, “outcry; clamor.” That the land may be at peace; that order and law may be observed; that the rights of all may be respected; that among neighbors there may be no strifes and contentions.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Breaking in, is in Hebrew only “breaking,” and…
14. Breaking in, is in Hebrew only “breaking,” and refers to damage or painful casualty; while going out is loss or failure. These verses follow beautifully Psa_144:11, and continue its prayer; portraying in few words a copious prosperity, such as a king might wish for his people.
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 14. our oxen … strong to labour] Both words…
14. our oxen … strong to labour] Both words are of uncertain meaning. (1) Most commentators follow the Ancient Versions in regarding the word allûphîm here as a variant form for alâphîm, ‘oxen’ or ‘cattle.’ Oxen, it is thought, are naturally mentioned after sheep. The participle m’subbâlîm is variously explained. As it is passive in form it can hardly mean capable of bearing burdens, strong to labour (A.V.); and as it is masculine, it can hardly mean laden with young, pregnant. It is not a natural expression fox fat and strong, as the LXX, Aq., Symm. and Jerome render it, i.e. loaded with flesh. Most probably it means well laden (R.V.) with the produce of the fields which they draw home in carts.
(2) Allûphîm however may mean chieftains (cp. Zec_12:5-6), and in Ezr_6:3 the verb in Aramaic appears to mean set up or firmly established. In such a late Psalm it is quite possible that the word might be used in the sense it bears in Aramaic (cp. the word for rescue in Psa_144:7), and the meaning our chieftains firmly established suits the context very well. It is of course to be connected with the remainder of the verse, and not with Psa_144:13. If the leaders of the community are strong and their authority well established, the community will be in less danger of attacks from without.
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no breaking in] No hostile invasion of the country: or, no breach in the city walls by which the enemy may enter (Neh_6:1).
nor going out] No going forth to surrender to the enemy (Amo_4:3; 2Ki_24:11), or into captivity (Jer_29:16): or no sallying forth to repel an attacking force.
no complaining in our streets] No outcry of citizens surprised by the enemy, or generally, no cry of mourning for disaster (Jer_14:2; Jer_46:12), in our broad places (Jer_5:1), the open space inside the city gates, which was the usual place of concourse for the citizens, where justice was administered, and business transacted.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) This verse is full of obscurities. The words…
(14) This verse is full of obscurities. The words rendered “oxen, strong to labour,” can hardly bear this meaning with the present pointing, since the participle is passive, and there is no authority for rendering oxen bearing burdens. The words have been rendered oxen laden, either with the produce of the land, or with their own fat (so apparently the LXX.), or with young, pregnant—all open to the objection that the passive of to bear must mean “to be borne,” and the latter to the further objection that the words are in the masculine. But since allûphîm elsewhere means “heads of families” (Jer_13:21, &c) or “princes,” and the noun cognate with the verb is used of a post connected with the revenue (1Ki_11:28; comp. the connection between the Greek ϕορός and ϕέρτερος), the participle passive may easily here mean “honoured,” or “high in office.” Or, from the use of the cognate Chaldee form in Ezr_6:3, “strongly laid,” we might render, our princes firmly established; and this is the best explanation of the passage.
No breaking in.—Heb., a “breach,” i.e., in the town walls. LXX. and Vulg., “no falling of the fence.” Others refer to the folds for cattle. (See Psa_60:2.) Ewald, however, connecting closely with the mention of “pregnant oxen,” renders no abortion. So Syriac: “Our cattle are great (with young), and there is not a barren one among them.”
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Nor going out—i.e., either to war, or into captivity (Prayer Book version), or the breaking out of cattle. The first is the more probable.
Complaining.—Rather, outcry, cry of sorrow, as in Jer_14:2; or possibly, cry of battle.
Streets.—Better, squares.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain That our oxen may be strong to labor; rather,…
That our oxen may be strong to labor; rather, and our oxen are heavily laden. A sign that an abundant harvest is being gathered in. That there be no breaking in, nor going out; literally, and there is no breach and no removal; i.e. no breach made in our walls, and no removal of our population into captivity. That there be no complaining in our streets; rather, and no wailing in our streets. Here the description of a happy time ends, and a burst of congratulation follows (see the next verse).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 14. That our oxen may be strong to…
Ver. 14. That our oxen may be strong to labour; so that the ploughing and cartage of the farm may be duly performed, and the husbandman's work may be accomplished without unduly taxing the cattle, or working them cruelly.
That there be no breaking in, nor going out; no irruption of marauders, and no forced emigration; no burglaries and no evictions.
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That there be no complaining in our streets; no secret dissatisfaction, no public riot; no fainting of poverty, no clamour for rights denied, nor concerning wrongs unredressed. The state of things here pictured is very delightful: all is peaceful and prosperous; the throne is occupied efficiently, and even the beasts in their stalls are the better for it. This has been the condition of our own country, and if it should now be changed, who can wonder? For our ingratitude well deserves to be deprived of blessings which it has despised.
These verses may with a little accommodation be applied to a prosperous church, where the converts are growing and beautiful, the gospel stores abundant, and the spiritual increase most cheering. There ministers and workers are in full vigour, and the people are happy and united. The Lord make it so in all our churches evermore.
Ver. 14. That our oxen may be strong to labour. (Margin: "able to bear burdens", or, loaded with flesh.) As in the verse before he had ascribed the fruitfulness of the herds and flocks to God's goodness, so now the fattening of their oxen, to show that there is nothing relating to us here which he overlooks. John Calvin.
Ver. 14. That our oxen may be strong to labour. Oxen were not only used for ploughing, thrashing, and drawing, but also for bearing burdens; compare 1Ch 12:40, which passage is peculiarly fitted to throw light on the verse before us. Laden oxen presuppose a rich abundance of produce. E.W. Hengstenberg.
Ver. 14. That there be no complaining in our streets, etc. Rather, "and no cry of sorrow" (comp. Isa 24:11 Jer 14:2 46:12) "in our open places", i.e., the places where the people commonly assembled near the gate of the city (comp. 2Ch 32:6 Ne 8:1). The word rendered "complaining" does not occur elsewhere in the psalter. Speaker's Commentary.
Ver. 14. No complaining. No outcries but "Harvest homes." John Trapp.
Ver. 14. A prayer for our ministers, and for the security, unity, and happiness of the church.
Ver. 14. The prosperous Church. There
1. Labour is cheerfully performed.
2. The enemy is kept without the gate.
3. There are few or no departures.
4. Faith and content silence complaint.
5. Pray that such may be our case as a church. W.B.H.
Psalms 144:15*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain That there be no complaining in our streets.
Psa_144:14
That there be no complaining in our streets.
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English pauperism
English pauperism is a peculiar product of this island. You see nothing like it anywhere else. Those who have heard me speak on this topic know what an essential difference I draw between pauperism and poverty. Poverty is a relative term. Man may be poor, and yet may be healthy and very happy, and may not need your sympathy. But pauperism describes the conditions of those unhappy fellow-citizens of ours in such wretched circumstances that it is absolutely impossible for them to maintain themselves and their families in health and decency. Now, this kind of extreme poverty or pauperism is quite different from anything that you witness anywhere else. As a distinguished minister of my own church, Dr. Rigg, said a quarter of a century, ago, in a book which he published on the subject of Education, English pauperism is a national institution, a legacy from mediaeval times and dregs of an outworn feudalism. In other words, the peculiar pauperism which exists in this country arises from the fact that the people have been divorced from the soil. (H. P. Hughes, M. A.)
Remedy for pauperism
Many who have no sympathy with abstract committees would be delighted to help particular cases. If any such committee were able to put affluent men and women into direct relations with some starving families, it would be a great gain every way. This suggestion is not novel. It was made five years ago by a gentleman at the second conference we ever held. Suppose we could get every household represented here to look after one destitute household. Instead of giving their charity here and there, suppose I could introduce you to one family--husband, wife, and children--all in great need of work. You could in various ways assist with practical sympathy and advice as well as with money. I do not know how many families there are likely to be out of work. Suppose 20,000 or 30,000 are in this condition, and suppose I could get 20,000 or 30,000 men and women to undertake to be a real friend to one family each, it would not be a great strain upon their purse or time, and it would be an untold blessing. Oh, that we could do something to bring together into direct personal contact the unprivileged and the privileged! Their separation is the root of the want of social sympathy between them. But let me say that many of those who seem to be the most remote from the poor are deeply touched by their condition, and are extremely anxious to help them. And I think the way suggested by Mr. Arnold White is one of the most effectual. Further, it will be found that if we could only prevent the pauperism occasioned by intemperance, there would scarcely be any pauperism left. (H. P. Hughes, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 No one will break through our walls
No one will break through our walls
"No one will be able to invade our city"
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no outcry
Here the outcry is associated with a severe problem that causes the person to cry out. AT: "no one crying in pain" or "no one crying for help" or "no one calling out for justice" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
cow
exile
bless
people group
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.