Isaiah 19:6 kjv
And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
Isaiah 19:6 nkjv
The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither.
Isaiah 19:6 niv
The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,
Isaiah 19:6 esv
and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.
Isaiah 19:6 nlt
The canals of the Nile will dry up,
and the streams of Egypt will stink
with rotting reeds and rushes.
Isaiah 19 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 19:5 | The waters from the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched. | Isaiah 19:6 |
| Ezekiel 29:3 | Speak and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt... | Ezekiel 29:3, Ezekiel 30:11-12 (Egypt's judgment) |
| Jeremiah 51:36 | "...But I will dry up her sea and make her springs cease to flow." | Jeremiah 51:36 (judgment on Babylon mirroring Egypt's) |
| Exodus 7:20 | Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded. Moses struck the water of the Nile with his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water was turned into blood. | Exodus 7:20 (Nile turned to blood, demonstrating God's power over Egypt's life source) |
| Joel 1:20 | The fields are laid waste, the ground mourns; for the grain is destroyed, the new wine is ruined, the olive oil is gone. | Joel 1:20 (Drought and devastation described) |
| Amos 8:11 | "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD." | Amos 8:11 (Spiritual famine as consequence of judgment) |
| Revelation 16:4 | The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died. | Revelation 16:4 (Water turned to blood in eschatological judgment) |
| Isaiah 5:6 | I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it. | Isaiah 5:6 (God's curse leading to barrenness) |
| Psalm 107:33 | He turned rivers into rivers of blood, and made streams of water unusable. | Psalm 107:33 (God's power to change waters) |
| Nahum 3:15 | “This is your doom!” the sword will devour you. You will be consumed like grasshoppers... | Nahum 3:15 (Destruction of Egypt) |
| Habakkuk 3:17 | Though the fig trees do not bud and there are no grapes 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, | Habakkuk 3:17 (Description of total agricultural failure) |
| Genesis 47:22 | Joseph did not buy the land for the Egyptians, because the king of Egypt was given his share. Joseph managed the land of Egypt for the people. | Genesis 47:22 (Nile's fertility vital for Egyptian livelihood) |
| Zechariah 14:8 | On that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea. In summer and in winter they will continue. | Zechariah 14:8 (Contrast with judgment: life-giving waters flowing) |
| Isaiah 11:15 | The LORD will dry up the Egyptian sea with the blast of his breath. He will wave his hand over the rivers, setting them ablaze. | Isaiah 11:15 (Similar imagery of drying and burning waters) |
| Revelation 11:12 | Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they rose up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. | Revelation 11:12 (Ascension of witnesses; related to God's sovereignty) |
| Isaiah 19:16 | In that day they will be like women, and they will tremble and be terrified because of the wrath of the LORD Almighty's impending judgment. | Isaiah 19:16 (Fear and terror as result of God's judgment) |
| Isaiah 30:23 | He will send rain on the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. | Isaiah 30:23 (Blessing of rain and fertility after repentance) |
| Jeremiah 46:11 | Go up to Gilead and get balm, virgin daughter Egypt. But your medicines are useless; you will not be healed. | Jeremiah 46:11 (Egypt's inability to help itself) |
| Ezekiel 32:11 | For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘ “The sword of the mightiest of nations will come against you, the most ruthless of all nations. They will lay waste to your strength, and their feet will trample it. | Ezekiel 32:11 (Military conquest and devastation) |
| Song of Solomon 5:6 | I opened for my lover, but my lover was gone; my lover had gone! My life failed him; I cried for him, but no one answered. | Song of Solomon 5:6 (Loss and emptiness due to absence of the beloved) |
Isaiah 19 verses
Isaiah 19 6 Meaning
The rivers of Egypt will dry up. The waters of the Nile will diminish and dry, causing a devastating drought that will parch the land.
Isaiah 19 6 Context
Isaiah 19 describes a prophecy of judgment and future restoration for Egypt. The chapter details various judgments God will bring upon Egypt due to its sins, including internal strife, oppressive rulers, and reliance on false gods. Verse 6 is part of a description of a severe drought that will afflict the land, impacting its vital water source, the Nile. This prophecy serves as a warning and a demonstration of God's sovereign power over all nations, even those considered mighty like Egypt. The overarching theme is God's judgment leading to submission and eventual worship.
Isaiah 19 6 Word Analysis
- וְהֵפַ֖ם (wə·hê·p̄am): "And they shall be dried up." The conjunctive "וְ" (wə) means "and." The verb "הֵפַם" (hêp̄am) is the third-person masculine plural perfect form of the root "חפם" (ḥap̄am), which is a denominative verb from "חֹ֫פֶר" (ḥōp̄er), meaning "to dredge" or "to clear out watercourses." However, in this context, it implies the opposite—the water being removed, dried up, or disappearing. This might suggest a complete desiccation or a deliberate draining away.
- נַֽהֲר֣וֹת (na·hărō·wṯ): "rivers." This is the plural of "נָהָר" (nāhār), a common Hebrew word for "river." Here it specifically refers to the Nile and its many channels.
- מִצְרַ֧יִם (miṣ·ra·yim): "Egypt." The biblical name for Egypt.
- וְחַרְבֵקֶ֘ם (wə·ḥar·bê·qem): "and your streams" or "and your canals." This is a poetic and metonymic way of referring to the various waterways and irrigation systems that extended from the Nile. The "חַרְבֵק" (ḥar·bêq) root can relate to a bed or channel. The suffix "קֶם" (qem) signifies "your" (masculine plural), suggesting these are man-made or vital arteries of the land dependent on the Nile.
- יֹמֶ֥שׁוּ (yō·me·šū): "will dry up." This is the third-person masculine plural perfect form of the root "יבשׁ" (yā·ḇaš), meaning "to dry up." It directly states the consequence of the Nile's diminishing.
- וְיִֽיבְשֽׁוּ (wə·yî·ḇə·šū): "and will dry up." This is another instance of the root "יבשׁ" (yā·ḇaš), used here as a consecutive perfect (or possibly waw-consecutive). It reinforces the theme of drying and parching.
Word-group analysis:The repetition of "dry up" emphasizes the totality of the desiccation. The term "streams" or "canals" ('ḥarbeqem') indicates not just the main river but also the vital network that sustained Egyptian agriculture, highlighting the widespread impact of the drought.
Isaiah 19 6 Bonus Section
The Nile was central to Egyptian civilization and religion. Its annual inundation brought fertility to the land. For the waters to "dry up" was an unimaginable disaster, suggesting divine intervention far beyond natural fluctuations. Scholars have noted parallels with ancient Near Eastern creation and combat myths where deities control cosmic waters; Isaiah's prophecy subverts these by showing the true Creator God is in absolute control, even over the mighty Nile. The drying up of water is often a sign of divine judgment, leading to a lack of sustenance and fertility, as seen in numerous prophetic passages.
Isaiah 19 6 Commentary
This verse depicts a catastrophic environmental event orchestrated by God as a judgment against Egypt. The drying up of the Nile, Egypt's lifeline, signifies not only physical hardship but also the collapse of its economy, infrastructure, and the power associated with its deities who were thought to control the waters. It underscores God's absolute sovereignty over creation and his ability to bring nations to their knees through natural means when they defy Him. This judgment would render Egypt helpless and fearful.