Isaiah 32:20

Blessed [are] ye that sow beside all waters,.... In places well watered and moistened, and so fit to receive the seed sown, which grows up, and brings forth much fruit, and amply rewards the pains of

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. Blessed (are) ye that sow beside all waters.

Blessed are ye that sow: as the barren forest shall be destroyed with hail, , so the fruitful field shall be improved, and bring forth much fruit; which is signified by a declaration of the blessedness of them that sow in it. Beside all waters; in all moist and fat grounds, which are like to yield good fruit. But this passage, as well as others in the foregoing verses, is to be understood mystically, and seems to respect the times of the gospel. The prophet reflecting upon his own unsuccessful labours, of which he complains, , and elsewhere, and foreseeing by, the Spirit the great and happy success of his successors, the ministers of the gospel, tacitly bewails his own unhappiness, who sowed his seed upon dry and barren ground, by congratulating the happiness of the apostles, who sowed their seed more generally, upon all fit grounds, without any distinction between Jews and Gentiles; and who found the ground, to wit, the hearts of the people, more moistened and softened, and better prepared to receive the good seed of God’ s word. The ox and the ass; which creatures they employed in ploughing and sowing the ground, .

Isaiah 32:20 Blessed [are] ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth [thither] the feet of the ox and the ass.Ver. 20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters.] Conclusionem texit ipse propheta. The prophet concludeth with an exclamation, as admiring the happiness of such as should live till the commonwealth should be thus restored; but especially when Christ should come in the power and purity of his ordinances, filling his people with the fruits of righteousness, and fattening them for the purpose with those waters of the sanctuary, as Nile doth the land of Egypt, &c. Oh, the heaped up happiness of such! O terque quaterque beati! Say, "They sow in tears, yet they shall reap in joy"; say, They "send thither the feet of the ox and the ass," those laborious and useful creatures, to ear the ground, and fit it for receipt of seed; they "shall surely eat the fruit of their labours"; they "shall reap in due time if they faint not." His faecunda sine dubio messis indulgentiae orietur, saith Arnobius; their "labour cannot be in vain in the Lord."

(20) Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters.—The picture of a golden age of agriculture receives its final touch. The whole land should be irrigated by calmly flowing streams, and men should cast their seed broadcast, and the oxen and the asses should draw the plough over a rich and fertile land. The whole land should be under tillage, instead of being left to supply (as in Isaiah 7:21-22) a poor and meagre pasturage, or to bring forth nothing but the “thorns and briars” of Isaiah 32:13. It is obvious that here also a spiritual meaning underlies the literal.

Verse 20. That sow beside all waters - "Who sow your seed in every well-watered place"] Sir John Chardin's note on this place is: - "This exactly answers the manner of planting rice; for they sow it upon the water, and before sowing, while the earth is covered with water, they cause the ground to be trodden by oxen, horses, and asses, who go mid-leg deep; and this is the way of preparing the ground for sowing. As they sow the rice on the water, they transplant it in the water." Harmer's Observ. vol. i. p. 280. "Rice is the food of two-thirds of mankind." Dr. Arbuthnot. "It is cultivated in most of the eastern countries." Miller. "It is good for all, and at all times." Sir J. Chardin, ib. "Le ris, qui est leur principal aliment et leur froment (i.e., des Siamois,) n'est jamais assez arrose; il croit au milieu de l'eau, et les campagnes ou on le cultive ressemblent plutot a de marets que non pas a des terres qu'on laboure aver la charue. Le ris a bien cette force, que quoy qu'il y ait six ou sept pieds d'eau sur lui, il pousse toujours sa tige au dessus; et le tuyau qui le porte s'eleve et croit a proportion de la hauteur de l'eau qui noye son champ. Voyage de l'Eveque de Beryte, p. 144. Paris, 1666. - L. "Rice, which is the principal grain and aliment of the Siamese, can never be too much watered. It grows in the water, and the fields where it is sown resemble marshes rather than fields cultivated by ploughing. Rice has that property that although it be covered with water six or seven feet deep, yet it raises its stalk above it; and this grows long in proportion to the depth of the water by which the field is inundated."

20. The prophet apostrophises the happy agricultural population of the renovated land of Israel. The sentiment may be in part due to his own delight in the avocations of the husbandman, but it has to be remembered that agricultural prosperity naturally holds a prominent place in Messianic prophecy, as the antithesis to the false refinements and military pomp of the civilisation that is to be swept away. The features of the description are, the happiness of the people, the abundance of water for the irrigation of the fields, and immunity from danger, so that “the ox and the ass” can be safely driven out to pasture, without fear of their not returning (cf. ch. Isaiah 1:3). The “thither” of the A.V. is a misleading insertion.

Blessed are ye - The sense of this verse is, that while the enemies of the Jews would be overthrown, they themselves would be permitted to cultivate their lands in security.

20. Blessed are ye that sow — In the coming happy times, when great activity shall be among God’s people in planting his principles everywhere. Beside — Better, upon all waters.