Isaiah 1:3 (YLT)

Passage

An ox hath known its owner, And an ass the crib of its master, Israel hath not known, My people hath not understood.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:1 The Visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he hath seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For Jehovah hath spoken: Sons I have nourished and brought up, And they--they transgressed against Me.

Isaiah 1:3 An ox hath known its owner, And an ass the crib of its master, Israel hath not known, My people hath not understood.

Isaiah 1:4 Ah, sinning nation, a people heavy <FI>with<Fi> iniquity, A seed of evil doers, sons--corrupters! They have forsaken Jehovah, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have gone away backward.

Isaiah 1:5 Wherefore are ye stricken any more? Ye do add apostasy! Every head is become diseased, and every heart <FI>is<Fi> sick.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "known", "owner", "crib", "master", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "known", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Hear O heavens and give ear O..." into verse 4's "Ah sinning nation a people heavy FI...", so "hath" and "known" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hath" and "known" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.