Isaiah 30:23

23 1And he will give 2rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. 3In that day your livestock will graze 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 your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
22 Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!"
23 And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures,
24 and the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork.
25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

Cross References 3

  • 1. [Isaiah 32:20; Psalms 144:13, 14]
  • 2. [Jeremiah 5:24]
  • 3. [Psalms 65:13]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.