Lamentations 3:27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke of his youth. If a bullock is not broken in when it is young, it will never be worth much for the plough. The work will be galling for itself, and most unsatisfactory for the husbandman. If this be neglected, it is vain to attempt it by and by; the beast will only be fretted and irritated, and any work it is put to will be a failure. A traveller in the East graphically describes, as an eyewitness, the difficulty of getting an untrained ox to perform agricultural work. "I have frequent opportunities," he said, "of witnessing the conduct of oxen when for the first time put into the yoke. They generally made a strenuous struggle for liberty, repeatedly breaking the yoke, and attempting to make their escape. At other times such bullocks would lie down upon their side or back, and remain so in defiance of the drivers, though they lashed them with ponderous whips. Sometimes from pity to the animal I would interfere, and beg them not to be so cruel. 'Cruel,' they would say, 'it is mercy, for if we do not conquer him now, he will require to be so beaten all his life." (J. Thain Davidson.) Parallel Verses KJV: It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.WEB: It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. |
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