And the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat salted provender: For oxen and asses, see the comments on 1.3 even though different Hebrew words are used there. Till the ground means to plow the soil. The oxen and donkeys did not do this by themselves, but farmers used them to pull plows. The Hebrew word rendered provender refers to food given to cattle. Since provender is an archaic word in English, Good News Translation uses “fodder.” The Hebrew adjective rendered salted comes from a root describing something with seasoning or yeast in it. Since salt is required in an animal’s diet, this seems to be in view here. For salted provender, Revised English Bible suggests “well-seasoned fodder.” Since this tasty fodder was a delicacy for the animals, Good News Translation provides a good model with “finest and best fodder.” The farmers give the animals this fodder as a reward for their hard work.

Which has been winnowed with shovel and fork: This line describes the fodder. The Hebrew verb rendered winnowed can mean “to winnow” or “to scatter.” If it has the sense of “winnow,” it refers here to the action of throwing grain stalks into the air to allow the wind to separate the grain from the chaff (see 21.10). According to WTH, the shovel and fork both refer to different types of long-handled tools used to winnow the grain. The shovel was like a spade, and the fork had five to seven prongs on it. If the Hebrew verb here has the sense of “scatter” (as in verse 22), then these tools were used to throw the fodder to the animals. New International Version follows this interpretation by rendering this line as “spread out with fork and shovel.” New American Bible is similar with “tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork.” Translators may follow either interpretation here. Good News Translation omits this clause altogether, something we do not recommend.

For the translation of this verse we suggest the following examples:

• The oxen and the donkeys that are used for plowing the ground will eat salted fodder that has been winnowed with shovel and fork.

• The oxen and the donkeys used to pull the plows in your fields will eat the best fodder/food, spread out before them by the farmers using their tools.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .