Isaiah 7:21
in Isaiah 7On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep;
KJV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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. A young cow - The Hebrew denotes a heifer that gives milk. The state which is denoted by this is that of great poverty.
This site's exposition
nourish a young cow, and two sheep
on Isaiah 7:21-22
In that day a man shall keep alive only a young cow and two sheep, a picture of agricultural collapse so severe that a household once counting flocks by the hundred is glad of three animals. Yet those few animals give milk enough that butter, once a delicacy, becomes the whole diet of everyone left in the land, Barnes reading the abundance as the ironic fruit of depopulation rather than prosperity. The verse pictures survival stripped to its plainest terms after the invasion the earlier verses foretell.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 21 onwards) And it shall come to pass on that day, a man shall nurture a cow of oxen, and two sheep, and because of the abundance of milk, he shall eat butter; for everyone who is left in the midst of the land shall eat butter and honey. And it shall come to pass on that day, every place where a thousand vines were worth a thousand silver shekels, there shall be thorns and briers. With arrows and bows they shall come there, for thorns and briers shall cover the whole land.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow. Here he sets out the effect of the punishment, or the sign of destruction. First, in the scarcity of animals: a young cow, and two sheep, because the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), yet he shall think himself happy in having any left. (2.) The few cattle that are left shall have such a large compass of ground to feed in that they shall give abundance of milk, and very good milk, such as shall produce butter enough,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And it shall come to pass in that day,....
The prophet Isaiah had his commission renewed in the year that king Uzziah died, ch. vi. Jotham his son reigned, and reigned well, sixteen years. All that time, no doubt, Isaiah prophesied as he was commanded, and yet we have not in this book any of his prophecies dated in the reign of Jotham; but this, which is put first, was in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֖ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֑וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יְחַיֶּה־ | yechaiyeh- | he will preserve alive | H2421 → | 282 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עֶגְלַ֥ת | ʾeglat | a heifer of | H5697 → | |
| בָּקָ֖ר | bakar | [the] herd | H1241 → | 183 times |
| וּשְׁתֵּי־ | ushetei- | and two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| צֹֽאן׃ | tzon | sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
וְהָיָ֖הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֑וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יְחַיֶּה־he will preserve alive
yechaiyeh-H2421 →282 times
אִ֛ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עֶגְלַ֥תa heifer of
ʾeglatH5697 →
בָּקָ֖ר[the] herd
bakarH1241 →183 times
וּשְׁתֵּי־and two
ushetei-H8147 →768 times
צֹֽאן׃sheep
tzonH6629 →274 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 5:17Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 2:6
So the seacoast will become a land of pastures, with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Zephaniah 2:14
Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie…
- Zephaniah 2:6
Through
Isaiah 37:30And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:29
And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third…
- 2 Kings 19:29
Through
Jeremiah 39:10But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 25:12
But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- Jeremiah 52:16
But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- 2 Kings 25:12
Through
Isaiah 17:2The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be left to the flocks, which will lie down with no one to fear.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 25:5
I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
- Jeremiah 7:33
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
- Deuteronomy 2:36
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God…
- Ezekiel 25:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.