Verse 4 does not share a theme or have any catchwords (key terms in common) with the sayings before or after it.

“Where there are no oxen, there is no grain”: As the Revised Standard Version footnote suggests, this line is literally “Where there are no oxen, a manger of grain.” Two different terms for “ox” are used in this verse. In line 1 the Hebrew is a form used only in the plural and refers to castrated bulls used as work animals. The Hebrew word rendered “grain” by Revised Standard Version may also be taken to mean “clean” and is so translated by the Septuagint. In this sense the “manger” or feedbox is clean, and so empty. Whether the Hebrew text is changed, as in Revised Standard Version, or left unchanged, the sense seems to be the same: “If you don’t have oxen to plow a field, you won’t have grain to put in the feedbox.” This thought is reinforced by the second line, which affirms that it takes a strong work animal to produce a crop.

“But abundant crops come by the strength of the ox”: “Crops” renders an expression meaning “increase” or “yield” in reference to a harvest. The same expression is used in 10.16, where Revised Standard Version translates “gain.” “Strength” refers to the “might” or “power” of the work animal to pull a plow. The word for “ox” in line 2 is the common term used to refer to the same work animal in line 1. This word is also used in 7.22; however, there it is figurative and easier to adapt in translation. Here the reference is to a literal animal, and if the “ox” is unknown, it may be necessary to refer to another work animal, or use a general expression such as “animal used for working.” We may render this saying, for example, “Without an ox your barn will be empty, but with a strong ox you will have lots of grain.” Where “grain” is not the staple food, or where people are not very familiar with growing it, it is advisable to use a more general term for “crops”; for example, “If there is no bullock to break the ground, the food house will be empty; but if there is a bullock, there will be plenty of food in the garden [field].”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .