Isaiah 7:25
in Isaiah 7For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.
KJV
And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFourth, in the fear of their enemies, for they will tend the mountains and abandon the plains: and as for the hills: and all her cities shall be wastes (Jer 49:13), and: you endeavor to lay hold on the height of the hill (Jer 49:16).
This site's exposition
a thousand vines worth a thousand
on Isaiah 7:23-25
Land of "a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver" will grow only "briers and thorns." Hills "once tilled by the hoe" return to pasture, farmland undone by the invasion. The oracle that opened with a king's fear of an army ends with the land gone back to wilderness.
This site's exposition
the hills once tilled by the hoe
Vines were often planted on hills, Barnes says, and he points back to the fertile hill of 5:1. Henry sees the curse of Genesis 3:18 in the briers and thorns. The hills once tilled become places for oxen and sheep.
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 Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It shall be left at large for oxen to run in and less cattle. See the effect of sin and the curse; it has made the earth a forest of thorns and thistles, except as it is forced into some order by the constant care and labour of man.
And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock,....
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 Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And on all hills ... - All the fertile places in the mountains that used to be cultivated with the spade. Vineyards were often planted on the sides of hills; and those places were among the most productive and fertile in the land; see Isa 5:1. The mattock - The spade; the garden hoe; or the weeding-hook. An instrument chiefly used, probably, in vineyards. There shall not come thither - There shall not be. The fear of briers and thorns - This does not make sense; or if it does, it is not a sense consistent with the connection.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall be--rather, "were once." digged--in order to plant and rear vines (Isa 5:6). there shall not come--that is, none shall come who fear thorns, seeing that thorns shall abound on all sides [MAURER].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכֹ֣ל | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֶהָרִ֗ים | heharim | the hills | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּמַּעְדֵּר֙ | bama'der | with the hoe | H4576 → | |
| יֵעָ֣דֵר֔וּן | yeaderun | they were hoed ! | H5737 → | 11 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָב֣וֹא | tavo' | you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֔מָּה | shamah | there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יִרְאַ֖ת | yirat | fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| שָׁמִ֣יר | shamir | thorn[s] | H8068 → | 11 times |
| וָשָׁ֑יִת | vashayit | and bush[es] | H7898 → | 7 times |
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְמִשְׁלַ֣ח | lemishlach | <into> pastureland of | H4916 → | |
| שׁ֔וֹר | shor | ox[en] | H7794 → | 79 times |
| וּלְמִרְמַ֖ס | ulemirmas | and <into> a trampling place of | H4823 → | 7 times |
| שֶֽׂה׃ פ | seh | sheep | H7716 → | 47 times |
וְכֹ֣לand all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הֶהָרִ֗יםthe hills
heharimH2022 →546 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּמַּעְדֵּר֙with the hoe
bama'derH4576 →
יֵעָ֣דֵר֔וּןthey were hoed !
yeaderunH5737 →11 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָב֣וֹאyou will go
tavo'H935 →2568 times
שָׁ֔מָּהthere <towards>
shamahH8033 →834 times
יִרְאַ֖תfear of
yiratH3374 →45 times
שָׁמִ֣ירthorn[s]
shamirH8068 →11 times
וָשָׁ֑יִתand bush[es]
vashayitH7898 →7 times
וְהָיָה֙and it will become
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לְמִשְׁלַ֣ח<into> pastureland of
lemishlachH4916 →
שׁ֔וֹרox[en]
shorH7794 →79 times
וּלְמִרְמַ֖סand <into> a trampling place of
ulemirmasH4823 →7 times
שֶֽׂה׃ פsheep
sehH7716 →47 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 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.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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…
- 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.
- Numbers 32:34
And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
- Ezekiel 25:5
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 2 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…
- Psalms 73:7
From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
- Amos 4:1–3
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
- Zephaniah 2:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.