Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Isaiah 28:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Give ye ear, and hear my voice” at Isaiah 28:23 as a specific part of “The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise Proportion.”
Read It With
- Isaiah 28:23–29
Read Isaiah 28:23 with 28:23–29. By itself, “Give ye ear, and hear my voice” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, historical horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Plowing, sowing different seeds, and threshing each crop appropriately become an agricultural analogy for purposeful, measured action.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “Jerusalem's Covenant with Death Cannot Stand” into “The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise Proportion.” Its non-interchangeable movement is: Plowing, sowing different seeds, and threshing each crop appropriately become an agricultural analogy for purposeful, measured action. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Give ye ear, and hear my voice” at Isaiah 28:23 as a specific part of “The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise Proportion.”
Follow the Context
- The unit opens at 28:23 with the address, scene, poem, sign, question, or action named in its title.
- Plowing, sowing different seeds, and threshing each crop appropriately become an agricultural analogy for purposeful, measured action.
- By 28:29 the movement reaches its warning, promise, answer, response, or transition before the next unit begins.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
The farmer analogy does not provide secret agricultural prophecy or guarantee that every painful event is precisely tailored by God.
What Remains True
Wisdom applies proportionate means rather than treating every person, problem, or season identically. In Isaiah 28:23, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Give ye ear, and hear my voice” at Isaiah 28:23 as a specific part of “The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise Proportion.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Match a response to the evidence, person, and need rather than treating every problem identically or turning an analogy into a rigid formula. This response follows Isaiah 28:23–29's specific concern, “The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise Proportion.” This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah states or reports “Give ye ear, and hear my voice” at Isaiah 28:23 as a specific part of “The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise Proportion.”
Teach It Back
Explain Isaiah 28:23's precise role in Isaiah 28:23–29. Include “Give ye ear, and hear my voice,” state the unit's historical or literary limit, give one proportionate truth and action, and explicitly reject one harmful use.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Isaiah 28:23–29 — The Farmer's Varied Work Displays Wise ProportionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 28:23–29, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 28:23–29 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 28:23–29 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah and the Wise guide on Egypt policy, wisdom, and Assyria; applied to Isaiah 28:23–29
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Books 1C-1D and themes of judgment, hope, Zion, and trust; applied to Isaiah 28:23–29
Open the Enter the Bible Isaiah course ↗