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Isaiah 19:5-9

The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry. The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags will wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish. Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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Isaiah 19:5-9 sits inside this longer paragraph.

The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry. The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags will wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish. Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded. The pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry.

    The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags will wither away.

    The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

    The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish.

    Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded.

  • KJV King James Version

    And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

    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.

    The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

    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.

    Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be drained dry,

    And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be minished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither.

    The mosses by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

    The fishers also shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

    Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave cotton, shall be ashamed.

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Cross-references (23)

  • Ezekiel 27:7 (v9) Your sail was of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, that it might be to you for a banner. Blue and purple from the islands of…
  • Proverbs 7:16 (v9) I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
  • Isaiah 37:25 (v6) I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.”
  • Jeremiah 51:36 (v5) Therefore Yahweh says: “Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
  • Ezekiel 47:10 (v8) It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will…
Show all 23 cross-references
  • Habakkuk 1:15 (v8) He takes up all of them with the hook. He catches them in his net, and gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore he rejoices and is glad.
  • Numbers 11:5 (v8) We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;
  • Ezekiel 30:12 (v5) I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men. I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by…
  • Exodus 2:3 (v6) When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and…
  • Exodus 7:18 (v6) The fish that are in the river will die and the river will become foul. The Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the river.” ’ ”
  • Exodus 7:21 (v8) The fish that were in the river died. The river became foul. The Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the river. The blood was throughout…
  • 1 Kings 10:28 (v9) The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
  • 2 Kings 19:24 (v6) I have dug and drunk strange waters, and I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt with the sole of my feet.”
  • Job 8:11 (v6) “Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the rushes grow without water?
  • Isaiah 23:3 (v7) On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
  • Isaiah 32:20 (v7) Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the donkey.
  • Jeremiah 14:4 (v7) Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are disappointed. They cover their heads.
  • Ezekiel 19:13 (v7) Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
  • Joel 1:17-18 (v7) The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. How the animals…
  • Zechariah 10:11 (v5) He will pass through the sea of affliction, and will strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile will dry up; and the pride…
  • Zechariah 14:18 (v5) If the family of Egypt doesn’t go up, and doesn’t come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike…
  • Isaiah 15:6 (v6) For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate; for the grass has withered away, the tender grass fails, there is no green thing.
  • Isaiah 18:2 (v6) that sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus on the waters, saying, “Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and…

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (16 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–8 He showeth that the sea and Nile their great…

He showeth that the sea and Nile their great river, whereby they thought themselves most sure, should not be able to defend them from his anger, but that he would send the Assyrians among them, that should keep them under as slaves.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–9 Isa 19:5 And the waters shall fail from the…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–9 The waters shall fail from the sea; which may…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–9 And the waters shall fail from the sea,.... Which…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5–9 The waters - Which may be understood either,
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 9 Verse 5. The river shall be wasted and dried…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v5 Isa 19:5-10. The waters shall fail from the sea,…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5–9 And the waters shall fail - Here commences a…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8, 9 Dry. The lakes and the Nile shall not afford…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5–9 the sea--the Nile. Physical calamities, it is observed in…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8, 9 5. Waters shall fail from the sea — The…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–9 5. It has been supposed by some that there…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–9 (5) The waters shall fail from the sea.—The “sea,”…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–9 The waters shall fail from the sea. By "the…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7, 9 The waters of the sea will dry up, and…
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 9 19:5 The waters of the Nile were Egypt’s lifeline.…
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