Isaiah 28:25
New International Version
When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field?

New Living Translation
Does he not finally plant his seeds— black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat— each in its proper way, and each in its proper place?

English Standard Version
When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border?

Berean Standard Bible
When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, and rye within its border.

King James Bible
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?

New King James Version
When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow the black cummin And scatter the cummin, Plant the wheat in rows, The barley in the appointed place, And the spelt in its place?

New American Standard Bible
Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cumin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?

NASB 1995
Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?

NASB 1977
Does he not level its surface, And sow dill and scatter cummin, And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place, and rye within its area?

Legacy Standard Bible
Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cumin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?

Amplified Bible
When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow [the seed of] dill and scatter cumin, And plant wheat in rows, And barley in its [intended] place and rye within its border?

Christian Standard Bible
When he has leveled its surface, does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, with spelt as their border.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When he has leveled its surface, does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, with spelt as their border.

American Standard Version
When he hath levelled the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows, and the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in the border thereof?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Is it not whenever he levels its surface, he scatters the fennel, and he sows cumin, and casts wheat and barley and rye at its borders?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Does he not, when he has levelled the surface thereof, then sow the small black poppy, or cumin, and afterward sow wheat, and barley, and millet, and bread-corn in thy borders?

Contemporary English Version
When a field is ready, they scatter the seeds of dill and cumin; they plant the seeds of wheat and barley in the proper places and sow other grains around the edges.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Will he not, when he hath made plain the surface thereof, sow gith, and scatter cummin, and put wheat in order, and barley, and millet, and vetches in their bounds?

English Revised Version
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the appointed place and the spelt in the border thereof?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When he has smoothed its surface, doesn't he scatter black cumin seed and plant cumin? Doesn't he plant wild wheat in rows? Doesn't he put barley in its own area and winter wheat at its borders?

Good News Translation
Once they have prepared the soil, they plant the seeds of herbs such as dill and cumin. They plant rows of wheat and barley, and at the edges of their fields they plant other grain.

International Standard Version
When he has leveled its surface, he scatters caraway and sows cumin, doesn't he? He plants wheat in rows, barley in its designated place, and feed for livestock around its borders, doesn't he?

JPS Tanakh 1917
When he hath made plain the face thereof, Doth he not cast abroad the black cummin, and scatter the cummin, And put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the appointed place And the spelt in the border thereof?

Literal Standard Version
Has he not, if he has made its face level, | Then scattered fitches, and sprinkles cumin, | And has placed the principal wheat, | And the appointed barley, | And the rye [in] its own border?

Majority Standard Bible
When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, and rye within its border.

New American Bible
When he has leveled the surface, does he not scatter caraway and sow cumin, Put in wheat and barley, with spelt as its border?

NET Bible
Once he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant, sow the seed of the cumin plant, and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places?

New Revised Standard Version
When they have leveled its surface, do they not scatter dill, sow cummin, and plant wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border?

New Heart English Bible
When he has leveled its surface, doesn't he plant the dill, and scatter the cumin seed, and put in the wheat in rows, the barley in the appointed place, and emmer as its borders?

Webster's Bible Translation
When he hath made even the face of it, doth he not cast abroad the vetches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their place?

World English Bible
When he has leveled its surface, doesn’t he plant the dill, and scatter the cumin seed, and put in the wheat in rows, the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in its place?

Young's Literal Translation
Hath he not, if he have made level its face, Then scattered fitches, and cummin sprinkle, And hath placed the principal wheat, And the appointed barley, And the rie in its own border?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Listen and Hear
24Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil? 25When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, and rye within its border. 26For his God instructs and teaches him properly.…

Cross References
Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Exodus 9:32
but the wheat and spelt were not destroyed, because they are late crops.)

Isaiah 28:24
Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?

Isaiah 28:26
For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

Ezekiel 4:9
But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side.


Treasury of Scripture

When he has made plain the face thereof, does he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place?

in the principal, etc.

rye.

Exodus 9:31,32
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled…

Ezekiel 4:9
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

place.

Jump to Previous
Abroad Appointed Area Barley Border Cast Cumin Cummin Different Dill Earth Edge Face Fitches Grain Leveled Lines Plain Plant Principal Proper Rows Rye Scatter Seed Sorts Spelt Surface Thereof Vetches Wheat Within
Jump to Next
Abroad Appointed Area Barley Border Cast Cumin Cummin Different Dill Earth Edge Face Fitches Grain Leveled Lines Plain Plant Principal Proper Rows Rye Scatter Seed Sorts Spelt Surface Thereof Vetches Wheat Within
Isaiah 28
1. The prophet threatens Ephraim for their pride and drunkenness
5. The residue shall be advanced in the kingdom of Christ
7. He rebukes their error
9. Their unwillingness to learn
14. And their security
16. Christ the sure foundation is promised
17. Their security shall be tried
23. They are incited to the consideration of God's providence














(25) Doth he not cast abroad the fitches. . . .?--Modern English would give vetches. Each verb is carefully chosen to describe the special process that belonged to each kind of seed. We have, as it were, an excerpt from the "Georgics" of Palestine. Identification in such cases is not always easy; but I follow Mr. Carruthers (Bible Educator, i. 38) in reading "fennel seed" for the "fitches" of the English version. This, proverbially among the smallest of seeds, so as to be a type of the microscopic unseen, was scattered broadcast; "cummin," also proverbial for its smallness, was sown by a like process, with some technical variation, indicated by the use of the Hebrew words. Wheat and barley were "dropped in" more deliberately by the hand of the sower, and then (instead of "the rie in their place"), "vetches for the borders thereof," these being used in the East as a kind of herbaceous hedge round the field of corn. The point of the enumeration is that the wise tiller of the soil is discriminating in his methods, and deals with each seed according to its nature. So is it, the prophet suggests through the parable which he does not interpret, with the great Husbandman, whose field is the world, and for whom the nations are as seed. For "cast in the principal wheat . . ." read set the wheat in lines and the barley in the appointed place.

Verse 25. - When he hath made plain the face thereof; i.e. leveled it - brought the ground to a tolerably even surface. Doth he not cast abroad the fitches? The Hebrew word translated "fitches" - i.e. "vetches" - is qetsach, which is generally allowed to represent the Nigella sativa, a sort of ranun-cuhs, which is cultivated in many parts of the East for the sake of its seeds. These are black, and have an aromatic flavor. Dioscorides (3:83) and Pliny (19:8) say that they were sometimes mixed with bread. And scatter the cummin. "Cummin" (Cuminum sativum) is "an umbelliferous plant, something like fennel." The seeds - or rather, berries - have "a bitterish warm taste, with an aromatic flavor" ('Dict. of the Bible,' vol. 1. p. 372). They seem to have been eaten as a relish with various kinds of food. And cast in the principal wheat; rather, and put in wheat in rows. Drill-ploughs, which would deposit grain in rows, were known to the Assyrians ('Ancient Monarchies,' vol. 2. p. 198). And the rie in their place. Cussemeth, the word translated "rie," is probably the Holeus sorghum, or "spelt," which is largely cultivated in Palestine and other parts of the East, and is the ordinary material of the bread eaten by the poorer classes (see the 'Pulpit Commentary' on Exodus, pp. 219, 220). For "in their place," Kay translates, "in its own border." The wheat and the barley and the spelt would all be sown separately, according to the direction of Leviticus 19:19, "Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

he has leveled
שִׁוָּ֣ה (šiw·wāh)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7737: To level, equalize, to resemble, to adjust

its surface,
פָנֶ֔יהָ (p̄ā·ne·hā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6440: The face

does he not
הֲלוֹא֙ (hă·lō·w)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

sow
יִזְרֹ֑ק (yiz·rōq)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2236: Be here and there, scatter, sprinkle, strew

caraway
קֶ֖צַח (qe·ṣaḥ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7100: Fennelflower

and scatter
וְהֵפִ֥יץ (wə·hê·p̄îṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6327: To be dispersed or scattered

cumin?
וְכַמֹּ֣ן (wə·ḵam·mōn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3646: Cummin (a plant grown as a condiment)

He plants
וְשָׂ֨ם (wə·śām)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

wheat
חִטָּ֤ה (ḥiṭ·ṭāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2406: Wheat

in rows
שׂוֹרָה֙ (śō·w·rāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7795: A ring, a row

and barley
וּשְׂעֹרָ֣ה (ū·śə·‘ō·rāh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8184: Barley

in plots,
נִסְמָ֔ן (nis·mān)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5567: To designate

with rye
וְכֻסֶּ֖מֶת (wə·ḵus·se·meṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3698: Spelt (a kind of wheat)

within its border.
גְּבֻלָתֽוֹ׃ (gə·ḇu·lā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1367: A boundary, region


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 28:25 When he has leveled its surface doesn't (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 28:24
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