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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
• New Living Translation (NLT)There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless— the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.

Context of Isaiah 19:15

13The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger. 14The Lord has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit. And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. 16In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against 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 the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day—
• Psalms 128:2You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
• Proverbs 14:23In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.
• Habakkuk 3:17Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
• Haggai 1:11And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors."
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed 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

• 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