Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:3 
Context1:3 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.”
Isaiah 5:6
Context5:6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, 3
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
Isaiah 34:1
Context34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!
Pay attention, you people!
The earth and everything it contains must listen,
the world and everything that lives in it. 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 “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.
4 tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”
