The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

ISAIAH 1:3KJV
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Isaiah 1:3 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 1:3 mean?

Isaiah 1:3 says that even simple animals like an ox and a donkey recognize and respond to their owners, but the people of Israel do not recognize or understand their relationship with God. The verse uses this comparison to highlight Israel’s lack of awareness and thoughtfulness toward God, despite all He has done for them.

In this verse, the prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah and Jerusalem on behalf of God. The situation is one of spiritual neglect: God’s people have forgotten who He is and what He has provided for them. By comparing Israel to animals that instinctively know their caretakers, Isaiah points out how unnatural and serious Israel’s forgetfulness is.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 1:3

  • "knoweth" (יָדַע, yadaʿ): This word means more than just intellectual knowledge; it often includes recognition, relationship, and loyalty. The verse uses it to show that animals have a basic, natural loyalty that Israel is missing.
  • "crib" (אֵבוּס, ʾevus): This refers to a feeding trough or manger. The image is of an animal knowing where it is fed and cared for, suggesting that Israel should recognize where its blessings come from.
  • "consider" (בִּין, bin): This word means to understand, pay attention, or give thought. The verse says Israel does not even stop to think or reflect on their situation, deepening the sense of neglect.

Why Isaiah 1:3 matters

  • Isaiah 1:3 clears up the idea that Israel’s problem was just ignorance; the verse shows it is willful neglect, since even animals show more natural loyalty and awareness.
  • The verse emphasizes how serious Israel’s spiritual condition is by using a vivid, everyday comparison that would have been clear to anyone in ancient Israel.
  • Isaiah 1:3 sets the tone for the rest of the chapter, showing why God is disappointed and calling the people to recognize and return to Him.

Where else these words appear

“crib” Hebrew H18 · used in 3 verses

  • Job 39:9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
  • Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

“ox” Hebrew H7794 · used in 69 verses

  • Genesis 32:5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
  • Leviticus 17:3 What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,
  • Judges 6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

“owner” Hebrew H7069 · used in 76 verses

  • Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
  • Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
  • Proverbs 17:16 Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

“master's” Hebrew H1167 · used in 78 verses

  • Genesis 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
  • Judges 9:18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)
  • Proverbs 12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.