TO MUZZLE — to stop a mouth; and, once, to block a road. The verb stands in two verses of the Hebrew Bible: Deuteronomy 25:4, you shall not muzzle an ox while it threshes, and Ezekiel 39:11 (not yet on these pages), where a valley of graves blocks the passers-by. The threshing is dush: the animal drags a sledge over cut grain on the floor — the sledges of iron of Amos 1:3 (already on these pages), Micah 4:13's arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, Hosea 10:11's heifer that loves to thresh (neither yet on these pages) — and walks all day through food. ⭐ Paul made the four words a rule for preachers: 1 Corinthians 9:9, is it for oxen that God is concerned?, and 1 Timothy 5:18, where it stands beside the labourer deserves his wages as the Scripture (neither yet on these pages). The Greek of 1 Timothy is the Septuagint's; 1 Corinthians, in the critical text, uses a rarer verb, kēmoō, with the Septuagint's phimoō as a variant. ⚠ The NWT 1984 and TNM 1987 print a bull and a toro for shor; the KJV's 'corn' is grain, not maize. → first discussed at Deut 25:4