Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 25:4
Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites in the plains of Moab, concluding a sequence of civil regulations that begins with the forty-stripe limit on corporal punishment.
The words — The Hebrew תַחְסֹ֥ם (tachsom) commands "you will muzzle" the שׁוֹר (shor, ox) while it performs its threshing function.
The thread — The exact prohibition is quoted in 1 Corinthians 9:9, while 1 Timothy 5:17 establishes a parallel principle regarding compensation for laborers.
Why it lands — The text establishes a baseline rule of fair treatment for working animals before extending the logic to human laborers and ministers.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 5:17 Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
- 1 Corinthians 9:9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
- Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.
- Hosea 10:11 Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground.
- Isaiah 28:27 Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But caraway is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.