Isaiah 42 15

Isaiah 42:15 kjv

I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

Isaiah 42:15 nkjv

I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools.

Isaiah 42:15 niv

I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.

Isaiah 42:15 esv

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.

Isaiah 42:15 nlt

I will level the mountains and hills
and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
and will dry up all the pools.

Isaiah 42 verses

Isaiah 42 15 Meaning

Isaiah 42:15 declares God's decisive and powerful action to radically alter the natural environment. It portrays the Lord as actively laying waste to prominent landscapes—mountains and hills—and causing life-sustaining elements like vegetation and water sources to dry up. This drastic transformation signifies God's absolute sovereignty and control over creation, serving either as an act of judgment or as a means to clear a path and prepare for His further redemptive work, demonstrating His matchless power.

Isaiah 42 15 Context

Isaiah 42:15 appears within the broader context of God's self-declaration and His introduction of the "Servant of the Lord" (Isaiah 42:1-9). God asserts His unique identity as the Creator (v. 5) and the only true God, contrasting Himself with idols (v. 8). Immediately preceding verse 15, God declares His intention to act, announcing new things and singing a new song (vv. 9-10). He then promises a mighty roar, a warlike cry against His adversaries (vv. 13-14). Verse 15 thus describes the consequence of God's mighty intervention—a radical reordering of the natural world, symbolizing the desolation and judgment He brings upon those who oppose Him, or clearing the way for His new work among His people, reminiscent of the exodus. This powerful imagery reinforces His authority over all creation and all nations, challenging any contemporary pagan beliefs that attributed such power to false deities associated with natural phenomena. It speaks of divine action on a cosmic scale, establishing the backdrop for His compassionate leadership of the blind and new restoration efforts (v. 16ff).

Isaiah 42 15 Word analysis

• I will lay waste (אַחֲרִיב - akhaḥarîb):

  • Hiphil imperfect of the verb חָרַב (kharav), meaning "to lay waste," "make desolate," "devastate."
  • Emphasizes God's active, intentional, and complete destruction or desolation. It's a definitive, powerful action, not a passive decay.
  • Significance: Highlights God's absolute power to unmake or radically change established forms.

• mountains (הָרִים - harîm):

  • Plural of הַר (har), "mountain," "hill."
  • Represents prominent, seemingly immutable, and formidable structures of the earth.
  • Symbolism: Can represent stability, strength, permanence, or even nations and empires (as high places). Their desolation implies overcoming immense obstacles or the overthrow of established powers.

• and hills (גְּבָעוֹת - gevā'ôt):

  • Plural of גִּבְעָה (giv'ah), "hill," "rise."
  • Complements "mountains," creating an encompassing expression of the entire landscape, both high and low elevations.
  • Significance: Reinforces the comprehensiveness of the desolation, not just the highest peaks but all prominent geographical features.

• and wither (וְאֹבִ֖ישׁ - wə'ōvīš):

  • Hiphil imperfect of יָבֵשׁ (yābeš), "to be dry," "to wither," "to fade."
  • Implies the active cause of drying up or the cessation of life and freshness.
  • Significance: Denotes the removal of life-sustaining elements, leading to barrenness.

• all their vegetation (כָּל־עֶשְׂבָּם - kol-ʿesbām):

  • Literally "all their grass/herbs/foliage."
  • Represents all plant life, symbolizing the life, fertility, and beauty of the land.
  • Significance: Its withering indicates utter barrenness, loss of livelihood, and ecological devastation, often a consequence of judgment.

• I will turn rivers into islands (וְשַׂמְתִּי נְהָרוֹת אִיִּים - wəśamtî nəhārōt 'iyyîm):

  • "I will set/make rivers as islands." אִיִּים ('iyyîm) is the plural of אִי ('î), which can mean "island," "coastland," or "dry land."
  • In context of rivers, it means drying up the continuous flow, so that the riverbed becomes dry ground, or it fragments into disconnected, stagnant pools interspersed with dry mounds or patches, akin to islands within what was once water.
  • Significance: Radical desiccation of essential water sources. It reverses the life-giving nature of rivers, turning them into impediments rather than pathways or sources of sustenance.

• and dry up pools (וַאֲגַמִּים אוֹבִישׁ - wa'agammîm 'ōvīš):

  • אֲגַמִּים ('agamim) are "marshes," "swamps," "pools," or "stagnant waters."
  • The verb אוֹבִישׁ ('ōvīš) is the same "cause to wither/dry up" as above.
  • Significance: Complements "rivers," signifying the comprehensive removal of all forms of water bodies, leaving no refreshment or source of life.

Words-group by words-group analysis

• "I will lay waste mountains and hills and wither all their vegetation": This phrase highlights God's comprehensive devastation of the earth's solid and biological structures. It portrays a direct, powerful, and total environmental disruption, removing both the prominent topographical features and the life they sustain. This could symbolize the overturning of established human systems or the stripping away of human strength and reliance on the physical world.
• "I will turn rivers into islands and dry up pools": This focuses on God's mastery over water sources, the lifeblood of any land. Transforming flowing rivers into fragmented, dry patches or isolated pools, and drying up existing stagnant pools, represents a complete disruption of hydrological systems. This indicates the removal of life, prosperity, and the ability to travel or draw refreshment, often associated with a curse or the prelude to a new, divinely engineered environment. The combination of land and water desiccation underscores the totality of God's transformative power.

Isaiah 42 15 Bonus section

The dramatic imagery in Isaiah 42:15, particularly the drying up of rivers and the withering of vegetation, directly counters the agricultural fertility cults prevalent in the Ancient Near East, such as those associated with Baal. These cults believed that various deities controlled rain and agricultural bounty. By explicitly stating He will lay waste, wither, and dry up these vital elements, YHWH is emphatically demonstrating that He alone holds true power over creation, thus dismissing the efficacy of pagan gods. This acts as a strong polemic, declaring that only the God of Israel, not any false idol, has the capacity to manipulate the very fabric of existence. Furthermore, the complete reversal of creation's life-giving aspects also functions as an "uncreation" motif, preparing the ground for the "new creation" or new Exodus themes that will follow in Isaiah, where God promises to make springs in the desert (Isa 41:18; 43:19). It also echoes the drying of the Red Sea for the first Exodus (Exod 14:21) and anticipates future divine acts of path-making.

Isaiah 42 15 Commentary

Isaiah 42:15 unveils God as the ultimate Sovereign whose power is not merely metaphorical but manifests in radical, observable changes to creation. The vivid imagery of desiccating mountains, hills, vegetation, rivers, and pools illustrates His unchallengeable authority over both the "unshakeable" and the "life-giving" aspects of the natural world. This profound alteration of the landscape is a declaration of divine judgment against His adversaries or a dramatic preparatory act for His redemptive intervention for His people. It reveals a God who can and will clear away all obstacles, remove all sources of self-reliance, and reshape the world to fulfill His purposes. This verse underscores that the very structures and lifelines of existence are utterly dependent on His decree. This desolate clearing paves the way for a new work of God, emphasizing that through chaos and undoing, new paths and beginnings can emerge, as will be seen later in Isaiah's prophecies of a renewed creation. It implies that nothing, whether it be formidable mountains or life-giving rivers, can stand in the way of the Lord's intended will or prevent Him from acting decisively.