Lexical Summary niyr: Fallow ground, freshly plowed field Original Word: נִיר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance fallow ground, plowing, tillage Or nir {neer}; from niyr; properly, plowing, i.e. (concretely) freshly plowed land -- fallow ground, plowing, tillage. see HEBREW niyr Brown-Driver-Briggs II. נִיר noun [masculine] the tillable, untilled or fallow ground; — ׳נ absolute as accusative of congnate meaning with verb נִירוּ לָכֶם נִ֑יר Hosea 10:12; Jeremiah 4:3 till you the untilled ground (figurative of unaccustomed moral action); construct only רָבאֹֿכֶל נִיר רָאשִׁים Proverbs 13:23 abundant food (yields) the fallow ground of poor men (i.e. with ׳יs blessing). — I. נִיר see נור. p. 632f II. ניר (√ of following; compare Late Hebrew נִיר, Arabic Topical Lexicon Overview of נִירThe term נִיר denotes ground that has been freshly broken up or left fallow so that it can be sown. In Scripture it serves both a literal and metaphorical role: literally describing agricultural practice in ancient Israel, and figuratively urging moral and spiritual cultivation in the life of God’s people. Agricultural Background In the Near East, successful farming depended on turning hard, sun-baked soil with a wooden plow tipped by iron or bronze. Leaving a field fallow for a season allowed moisture to penetrate and organic matter to decompose, producing looser soil and renewed fertility. Because most Israelites were small-parcel farmers, a patch of nîr represented livelihood, inheritance, and daily bread. Thus the image carried immense emotional weight and easily lent itself to instruction about stewardship, justice, and repentance. Occurrences in Scripture “Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but without justice, it is swept away.” “Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the lamp of the wicked—are sin.” (Many manuscripts read “the plowing of the wicked,” linking the verse to nîr; see discussion below.) 3. Jeremiah 4:3 “Break up your fallow ground and do not sow among the thorns.” 4. Hosea 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and showers righteousness upon you.” Proverbs 13:23 – Economic Justice and Hope Solomon contrasts the potential of unassuming plots with the systemic forces that rob the poor. Even unplanted nîr holds “abundant food,” a reminder that the Creator has hard-wired sufficiency into His world. The tragedy arises when unjust structures confiscate or devastate that provision. The verse therefore functions as both consolation and warning: God has imbedded hope for the vulnerable in creation, yet He demands societies to remove the inequities that prevent that hope from becoming harvest. Ministry Implication: Christian benevolence must address more than charity; it must challenge attitudes and systems that “sweep away” the produce latent in every person’s God-given potential. Proverbs 21:4 – Plowed Ground and Pride The Hebrew reading behind “lamp of the wicked” can equally be vocalized “plowing of the wicked,” making the verse a threefold catalogue of sin: arrogant eyes, proud heart, and even the daily work of an unrepentant sinner. In that reading נִיר underscores that pride taints not only obvious transgressions but ordinary labor. Though the follows the widely attested “lamp” reading, the alternative underscores how depravity permeates what appears to be neutral industry when the heart is hostile toward God. Ministry Implication: Service, career, or ministry pursued in self-exaltation becomes sin as surely as overt rebellion. Believers must guard motives so that every field they plow is offered to the Lord in humility. Jeremiah 4:3 – Call to Repentance Jeremiah addresses men of Judah and Jerusalem on the eve of Babylonian judgment. The prophet’s agricultural metaphor is razor-sharp: until Judah breaks up its nîr—hard, crusted hearts—fresh seed of righteousness cannot germinate. The command “do not sow among the thorns” recalls the thorn-infested soil of Genesis 3:17-18, reminding hearers that sin always regresses toward curse. True repentance therefore begins with internal tillage, not superficial ritual. Historical Note: Jeremiah ministered during the reigns of Josiah through Zedekiah, when land lay ravaged by political intrigue and foreign invasion. His use of farming language met listeners in their agrarian reality, transforming daily toil into a summons to covenant fidelity. Hosea 10:12 – Cultivating Covenant Faithfulness A century before Jeremiah, Hosea pleaded with the northern kingdom: “Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD.” The verse marries three commands—sow righteousness, reap loving devotion (ḥesed), and break up nîr. Cultivation imagery frames the entire covenant relationship: righteousness is seed, steadfast love is harvest, and fallow ground is the spiritual condition requiring preparation. Hosea anchors the exhortation in eschatological hope: the Lord will “come and shower righteousness,” picturing early and latter rains that guarantee fruitfulness when the soil is ready. Ministry Implication: Revival is not conjured by emotional fervor but ushered in by patient cultivation—repentance, obedience, and persistent prayer that opens the heart for God’s “showers.” Prophetic and Eschatological Significance Throughout the prophets, agriculture becomes eschatological shorthand. Unplowed wilderness will blossom (Isaiah 35:1), and the plowman will overtake the reaper (Amos 9:13). נִיר, as soil awaiting seed, embodies the already-not-yet tension: God has prepared blessings, yet human responsiveness determines whether potential becomes harvest. The image ultimately points toward the new covenant promise of hearts of flesh replacing hearts of stone (Ezekiel 36:26). Just as fallow ground must be broken, so the Spirit must regenerate the inner person. Ministry Application • Personal Devotion: Regular seasons of self-examination mirror the farmer’s offseason plowing. Confession, fasting, and meditation break up complacency so that Scripture can penetrate. Worship and Homiletic Use Songs and sermons that call congregations to “seek the Lord until He comes” echo Hosea’s promise and invite corporate repentance. Visual aids of freshly tilled soil can underscore that God desires depth, not mere surface change. Preachers may contrast the fallow ground that bears fruit when cultivated with the thorny soil of Matthew 13:22, reinforcing continuity between Testaments. Related Themes and Cross-References • Seed and Sower – Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4:14; Luke 8:11 In every appearance, נִיר teaches that God’s provision and purposes are ready, awaiting hearts—and societies—willing to be broken, turned, and made fruitful for His glory. Forms and Transliterations נִ֑יר נִ֖ר נִ֣יר ניר נר nir nîrLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Proverbs 13:23 HEB: רָב־ אֹ֭כֶל נִ֣יר רָאשִׁ֑ים וְיֵ֥שׁ NAS: food [is in] the fallow ground of the poor, KJV: food [is in] the tillage of the poor: INT: Abundant food the fallow of the poor is Proverbs 21:4 Jeremiah 4:3 Hosea 10:12 |
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Syriac 
(in Lexicons), all = the system of heddles or 'apparatus [of small cords with loops, or eyes] by which the threads of the warp are raised and lowered to make an opening for the passing of the woof' GFMPAOS Oct. 1889, clxxix. f.; compare Assyrian nîru, Syriac 
, yoke).