1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,
a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; 1
but Israel does not recognize me, 2
my people do not understand.”
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 3
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 4
1 tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
2 tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).
3 tn Heb “by all the waters.”
4 tn Heb “who set free the foot of the ox and donkey”; NIV “letting your cattle and donkeys range free.”
sn This verse seems to anticipate a time when fertile land is available to cultivate and crops are so abundant that the farm animals can be allowed to graze freely.