8 Bible Verses about Oxen

“Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.

That will please Yahweh more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.

So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.

Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah, the servants of the king,

Then after some years, he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who were with him. Then he persuaded him to march up to Ramoth-gilead,

when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds.

The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing.

Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt.

After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land.

The seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless, scorched heads of grain are seven years of famine.

After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the bank of the Nile.

along with all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their sheep, and their cattle were left in the land of Goshen.

Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”

Moses replied, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds because we must hold Yahweh’s festival.”

Look at Behemoth,
which I made along with you.
He eats grass like an ox.

They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating ox.

You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and He gives it to anyone He wants.

Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.

His estate included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him.

For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain. Is God really concerned with oxen?

“Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.

Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him.

a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

Do horses gallop on the cliffs;
does anyone plow there with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless your descendants, and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil—the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks, in the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you.

Your descendants will be blessed,
and your land’s produce,
and the offspring of your livestock,
including the young of your herds
and the newborn of your flocks.

Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down,
for My people who have sought Me.

Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds that grazed in Sharon, while
Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

“If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

"If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother. If your brother does not live near you or you don't know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him.

Do not covet your neighbor’s wife or desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

“Do your work for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the foreign resident may be refreshed.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the foreigner who lives within your gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you do.

“You must make an earthen altar for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats, as well as your cattle. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered.

Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.

My heart cries out over Moab,
whose fugitives flee as far as Zoar,
to Eglath-shelishiyah;
they go up the slope of Luhith weeping;
they raise a cry of destruction
on the road to Horonaim.

“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices as far as Jahaz—from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah—because even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

Ephraim is a well-trained calf
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on her fine neck.
I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.

Egypt is a beautiful young cow,
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.

Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is empty,
but an abundant harvest comes
through the strength of an ox.

Our cattle will be well fed.
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our public squares.

and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

One of Saul’s servants, detained before the Lord, was there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Again, he sent out other slaves, and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

She has prepared her meat; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.

Those who sow seed are happy
beside abundant waters;
they let ox and donkey range freely.

The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork.

Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.

I will not accept a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,

He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

“This is the legal statute that the Lord has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red cow that has no defect and has never been yoked.

Those who sow seed are happy
beside abundant waters;
they let ox and donkey range freely.

The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork.

Our cattle will be well fed.
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our public squares.

which the Lord struck down before the community of Israel, is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.”

The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 20 ounces of silver.

“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’

“Now then, prepare one new cart and two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.

They brought as their offering before the Lord six covered carts and 12 oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.

Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.

Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.

30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.

Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.

“However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.

Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?

Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep and cattle I hear?”

Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it.

They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,
sprawled out on their couches,
and dine on lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall.

For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. Is God really concerned with oxen? Or isn't He really saying it for us? Yes, this is written for us, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should do so in hope of sharing the crop.

In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, oxen, and sheep. Indeed, there was joy in Israel.

His firstborn bull has splendor,
and horns like those of a wild ox;
he gores all the peoples with them
to the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and such are the thousands of Manasseh.

Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the cattle and sheep, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the Lord their God. They gathered them into large piles.

If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen down on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.

These are the animals you may eat:

the ox, the sheep, the goat,

the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer,
the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope,
and the mountain sheep.

"When a man's ox injures his neighbor's ox and it dies, they must sell the live ox and divide its proceeds; they must also divide the dead animal. If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.

"When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox's owner is innocent. However, if the ox was in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned, and its owner must also be put to death. If instead a ransom is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him. read more.
If it gores a son or a daughter, he is to be dealt with according to this same law. If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give 30 shekels of silver to the slave's master, and the ox must be stoned.

I have heard Ephraim moaning,
“You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
like an untrained calf.
Restore me, and I will return,
for you, Lord, are my God.

Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.

Egypt is a beautiful young cow,
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.

Because you rejoice,
because you sing in triumph—
you who plundered My inheritance—
because you frolic like a young cow treading grain
and neigh like stallions,

In any case of wrongdoing involving an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or anything [else] lost, and someone claims: That's mine, the case between the two parties is to come before the judges. The one the judges condemn must repay double to his neighbor. "When a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any [other] animal to care for, but it dies, is injured, or is stolen, while no one is watching, there must be an oath before the Lord between the two of them to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor's property. Its owner must accept [the oath], and the other man does not have to make restitution. read more.
But if, in fact, the animal was stolen from his custody, he must make restitution to its owner. If it was actually torn apart [by a wild animal], he is to bring it as evidence; he does not have to make restitution for the torn carcass.

“Tell the Israelites: You are not to eat any fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

for I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter.
I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:
“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;
let’s cut him off from the land of the living
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
than a fattened ox with hatred.

Know well the condition of your flock,
and pay attention to your herds,

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
than a fattened ox with hatred.

He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap

He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the land of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.” As a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united.

He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

Your children have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net.
They are full of the Lord’s fury,
the rebuke of your God.

On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city said to him:

What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?

So he said to them:

If you hadn’t plowed with my young cow,
you wouldn’t know my riddle now!

The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork.

So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.”

Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time,

“The firstborn male from every womb belongs to Me, including all your male livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep.

It stood on 12 oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The reservoir was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center.

Ephraim is a well-trained calf
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on her fine neck.
I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.

If what was stolen—whether ox, donkey, or sheep—is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.

Ephraim is a well-trained calf
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on her fine neck.
I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.

You will not go to all the hills
that were once tilled with a hoe,
for fear of the thorns and briers.
Those hills will be places for oxen to graze
and for sheep to trample.

The cow and the bear will graze,
their young ones will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

That will please Yahweh more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.

After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He delivered Israel by striking down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.

For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?

The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but Israel does not know;
My people do not understand.”

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.”

They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless
and take the widow’s ox as collateral.