14:19a

I have bought five yoke of oxen: The term yoke of oxen refers to two oxen hitched together to pull something. So five yoke of oxen is equivalent to five pairs of oxen. In areas where people are not familiar with animals working in pairs, you may say “ten work animals.”

oxen: See the note on “ox” at 14:5a.

14:19b

and I am going to try them out: The clause I am going to try them out indicates that the man was about to leave for his farm to test the animals. This was clearly a poor excuse, because no one would buy animals before checking to see that they were good ones.

try them out: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as try them out can also mean “examine.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. But in this context, it means to test or verify the usefulness of the oxen or perhaps their ability to work together. For example:

to see how well they plow (God’s Word)

14:19c

Please excuse me: See the note on the identical sentence in 14:18d.

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