Isaiah 19:8 kjv
The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Isaiah 19:8 nkjv
The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
Isaiah 19:8 niv
The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.
Isaiah 19:8 esv
The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.
Isaiah 19:8 nlt
The fishermen will lament for lack of work.
Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan,
and those who use nets will lose heart.
Isaiah 19 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 19:5 | "The waters from the Nile will fail, and the river will dry up" | God's judgment on Egypt |
| Isa 19:10 | "The workers in the flax and the weavers of white cloth will despair" | Economic devastation of Egypt |
| Eze 29:3-5 | "I will lay My sword against you and cut off from you man and beast... your dead shall be left in the wilderness" | Prophecy against Egypt |
| Jer 46:1-2 | "The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah... Against Egypt... at Noph" | God's judgment on Egypt |
| Rev 16:4-6 | "The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood." | Heavenly judgment mirroring earthly plagues |
| Psa 74:12-17 | "God is my King from of old... You divided the sea by your strength; you broke the heads of the sea monsters." | God's power over waters, symbolic of judgment |
| Exo 7:17-18 | "Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn to blood.'" | First plague on Egypt |
| Exo 10:13-15 | "Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind across the land all that day and all night." | Locust plague |
| Isa 19:1 | "The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt;" | God's advent in judgment against Egypt |
| Nah 3:2-4 | "The crack of the whip, the rattling of wheels, the galloping horses, the bounding chariots! The horsemen charge, the swords flash, the spears glitter" | Judgment against Nineveh |
| Zech 10:11 | "He will pass through the sea of distress and strike down the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile will dry up." | God's deliverance and judgment |
| Isa 19:11-14 | "The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish... the princes of Noph have deceived her." | Spiritual blindness of Egypt's leaders |
| Isa 19:15 | "There will be nothing in Egypt that can do anything, great or small." | Complete desolation |
| Isa 19:16-17 | "In that day the people of Egypt will be like women, and tremble with fear because of the quaking hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shakes over them." | Egypt's fear and weakness |
| Isa 19:18-20 | "In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts." | Future hope and conversion for Egypt |
| Ps 105:26-36 | "He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. They performed his signs among them... He turned their rivers into blood..." | God's power demonstrated through plagues on Egypt |
| Eze 30:13-19 | "I will destroy the idols and put an end to the false gods in Memphis. I will make a great slaughter in the land of Egypt." | Judgment on Egyptian idolatry |
| Job 14:11 | "As water disappears from the sea, and a river wastes away and dries up," | Metaphor for life's brevity |
| Job 41:31-32 | "He makes the depths of the sea boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Above, he makes a shining wake to show; one would think the abyss was gray with fright." | God's sovereign power over the sea |
| Hab 3:8 | "Did the Lord rage against the seas, against the rivers? Was your wrath against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea," | God's power displayed in natural events |
| Isa 27:1 | "In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea." | Symbolic defeat of oppressive powers |
Isaiah 19 verses
Isaiah 19 8 Meaning
This verse signifies the devastating impact of God's judgment on Egypt, causing its economic and spiritual life to wither like fishing nets dried in the sun. The river Nile, the source of Egypt's prosperity and depicted as a fishing ground, becomes barren and unproductive.
Isaiah 19 8 Context
Isaiah 19 foretells God's judgment upon Egypt for its pride and its reliance on idols and human power, rather than the Lord. The chapter describes a series of calamities that will befall the nation, impacting its land, leadership, and people. This particular verse fits within the broader description of the desolation that will affect Egypt's most vital resource – the Nile River. The drying up of the Nile is a powerful symbol of divine judgment that would incapacitate the nation’s agriculture, economy, and daily life, underscoring God's sovereignty over even the most natural and life-sustaining forces.
Isaiah 19 8 Word Analysis
וְ֭הָיָה (və·hō·w·wāh): "and it shall be," "and it will come to pass." Connects this consequence to preceding prophecies of judgment.
יַ֤אֹר (ya·’ōr): "the Nile." This is the primary lifeblood of Egypt, crucial for its agriculture and transportation. Its diminishment signifies complete ruin.
נָשֹׁ֖וּמוּ (nā·šō·ō·mū): "they shall be desolate," "they shall be laid waste." Emphasizes the emptiness and destruction.
וְגַ֥ם (wə·ḡam): "and also," "and furthermore." Adds emphasis to the next statement.
יַ֔גָּגוּ (ya·ḡō·ḡū): "they shall become dry." A unique word suggesting withering or becoming parched, like drought.
יְקָצֶ֣ר (yə·qā·ṣe·rə): "it shall shorten," "it shall be lacking." Implies a severe reduction, not total absence but unusable.
נַ֣חַל (na·ḥal): "river," "stream," "wadi." Reinforces the drying up of Egypt's main water source.
חִכָּ֖יו (ḥik·kōw): "its mouths," "its estuaries." Refers to the branches of the Nile river that flowed into the Mediterranean. When these dry up, the entire delta region is affected.
Fishers and those who cast nets will lament: The lamentation of the fishermen signifies the complete failure of the fishing industry, which relied heavily on the Nile’s bounty. This illustrates the broader economic collapse.
The drying of the Nile: The wilting of the Nile's mouths points to a profound ecological and economic disaster. The drying and shortening imply a cessation of the river's life-giving flow and its navigable routes.
Isaiah 19 8 Bonus Section
The imagery of the Nile drying up is potent, drawing upon the deep symbolic meaning of this river in Egyptian culture, which they revered as a god. By making the Nile impotent, God directly challenged Egypt's religious and political foundations, asserting His supremacy. This judgment also echoes the plagues of Exodus, particularly the turning of water to blood (Exo 7:17-24), but here it’s a drought. The futility of Egypt’s "wise men" and princes, mentioned in verses that follow, is set against this backdrop of natural collapse, showing that human wisdom is powerless against God’s might.
Isaiah 19 8 Commentary
Isaiah 19:8 vividly paints a picture of utter desolation brought upon Egypt by God's judgment. The drying up of the Nile, particularly its mouths (estuaries), signifies not just a natural disaster but a divine withdrawal of life and sustenance. This paralyzes the nation's core economy, symbolized by the fishermen who lose their livelihood. The prophecy illustrates that God has control over the very forces that sustain nations, and He can use them to bring about judgment against those who turn away from Him or rely on their own strength. This judgment serves as a stern warning and a demonstration of divine power.