Isaiah 30:23

23 And he will give the rain of thy seed with which thou shalt sow the ground; and bread, the produce of the ground, and it shall be fat and rich. In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures;

Isaiah 30:23 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 30:23

Then shall he give thee rain of thy seed, that thou shalt
sow the ground withal
Or, "rain to thy seed" ^F6; that is, when the seed is sown in the earth, the Lord will give the former rain, and cause it to take root, and spring up: and bread of the increase of the earth;
the earth, being watered with rain, should give its increase of corn, of which bread should be made; so that there would be seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, as in ( Isaiah 55:10 ) : and it shall be fat and plenteous;
or "fat and fat"; very fat and rich, exceeding good bread, and plenty of it; and after the siege of the city by Sennacherib's army was broke up, and that was destroyed, for years following there was great fruitfulness in the land, as was foretold, ( Isaiah 37:30 ) and this may denote the great fruitfulness of the Gospel, and the excellency of the spiritual food of it, and of the blessings of grace that come by it: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures;
signifying that there should be pastures for cattle in the several parts of the country, and these large ones, where cattle should feed, and enjoy great plenty. This clause belongs to the next verse ( Isaiah 30:24 ) , and should of right begin it. The Targum interprets it thus,

``and the righteous shall be nourished with their cattle at that time, with the fat of tender and fat things;''

as the earth would be fruitful, the cattle would be well fed; and so there would be plenty of provision for man and beast.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Kerz rjm) "sementi tuae", Piscator; "semini tuo", V. L. Tigurine version.

Isaiah 30:23 In-Context

21 And when ye turn to the right hand or when ye turn to the left, thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.

22 And ye shall defile the silver covering of your graven images, and the gold overlaying of your molten images; thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth: Out! shalt thou say unto it.

23 And he will give the rain of thy seed with which thou shalt sow the ground; and bread, the produce of the ground, and it shall be fat and rich. In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures;

24 and the oxen and the asses that till the ground shall eat salted provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.

25 And there shall be upon every high mountain and upon every hill that is lifted up, brooks [and] water-courses, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'nourishing.'