Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 19:15
15No head or tail, palm or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt.
Isaiah 19:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
- New International Version (NIV)There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
Context of Isaiah 19:15
13The princes of Zoan have been fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray. 14The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion. The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit. No head or tail, palm or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt. 16On that day Egypt will be like women and will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Armies when he raises it against them. 17The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Armies has planned against it.
Read all of Isaiah 19Isaiah 19:15 word by word
וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה לְמִצְרַ֖יִם מַֽעֲשֶׂ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר יַעֲשֶׂ֛ה רֹ֥אשׁ וְזָנָ֖ב כִּפָּ֥ה וְאַגְמֽוֹן׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 19:15
- Isaiah 9:14So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day.
- Psalms 128:2You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
- Proverbs 14:23There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.
- Habakkuk 3:17Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls,
- Haggai 1:11I have summoned a drought on the fields and the hills, on the grain, new wine, fresh oil, and whatever the ground yields, on people and animals, and on all that your hands produce.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,
Commentaries on Isaiah 19:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15The head or tail, branch or rush - R. D. Kimchi says, there are some who suppose that these words mean the dragon's head and tail; and refer to all those who are conversant in astronomy, astrology, etc.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Neither shall there be any work - The sense is, that there shall be such discord that no man, whether a prince, a politician, or a priest, shall be able to give any advice, or form any plan for the national safety and security, which shall be successful. Which the head or tail - High or low; strong or weak: those in office and those out of office; all shall be dispirited and confounded. Rosenmuller understands by the head here, the “political” orders of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15There is nothing Egypt can do: No leader, idol, or human wisdom can stop God’s judgment. The head and the tail represented all of Egypt's leaders, from the most important to the least important (see Isaiah 9:14–15).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1515. work for Egypt--nothing which Egypt can do to extricate itself from the difficulty. head or tail--high or low (Is 19:11-15, and Is 19:8-10). branch or rush--the lofty palm branch or the humble reed (Is 9:14, 15; 10:33, 34).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 19:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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