Isaiah 19:15

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 officers in Zoan are fools. The officers in Memphis have confused each other. The leaders of Egypt's clans have led their people in the wrong direction. 14The Lord has sent among the people in Egypt a spirit that confuses them. They go the wrong way in everything that they do. They are like drunk people who have been sick. They cannot walk in a straight line. Nobody in Egypt will be able to do anything. They may be Egypt's head or its tail, a palm branch or a reed. There is nothing that anyone can do. 16At that time, the Egyptians will be weak, like women. They will shake with fear because the Lord Almighty is ready to punish them. 17The people of Judah will frighten the Egyptians very much. If anyone says Judah's name, everyone who hears it will be afraid. They will be very afraid of the punishment that the Lord Almighty will bring to them.

Isaiah 19:15 word by word

וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה לְמִצְרַ֖יִם מַֽעֲשֶׂ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר יַעֲשֶׂ֛ה רֹ֥אשׁ וְזָנָ֖ב כִּפָּ֥ה וְאַגְמֽוֹן׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
• for Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• which the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• or tailזָנָבzânâb · tailH2180
• branchכִּפָּהkippâh · branchH3712
• or rushאַגְמֹן'agmôn · bulrushH100
• may doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:15

• Isaiah 9:14So, in one day, the Lord will destroy Israel, both its head and its tail. He will cut down both palm branch and reed.
• Psalms 128:2You will eat the food that you have worked hard to grow. You will have everything that you need. You will be happy!
• Proverbs 14:23If you work hard, something good will come. But if you only talk about it, you will become poor.
• Habakkuk 3:17Whatever happens, I will continue to thank the Lord. If there are no flowers on the fig trees, if there are no grapes on the vines, if there are no olives on the olive trees, if there are no crops in the fields, if the sheep are dying in the hills, if there are no cows on the farms,
• Haggai 1:11I have stopped the rain, so that your fields and the hills have become dry. Your crops will not grow. There will be no grapes to make wine. You will not have olives to make oil. Nothing will grow in the ground. Your animals will not become fat. People and animals will all hurt. For all your work, you will get nothing.’
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11Try very much to live at peace with other people. Work hard at your own job. We have already told you that you must do these things.

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

• War

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Rush
• Branch ;bough
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Head
• Isaiah
• Palm Tree
• Philistines

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