God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 19:6
6The canals will stink. Egypt’s streams will be emptied and dried up. The reeds and cattails will wither.
Isaiah 19:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,
- English Standard Version (ESV)and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither.
Context of Isaiah 19:6
4I will hand over the Egyptians to a harsh master. A strong king will rule them,” declares the Almighty Lord of Armies. 5The water in the Nile River will be dried up, and the river will be dry and empty. The canals will stink. Egypt’s streams will be emptied and dried up. The reeds and cattails will wither. 7The rushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile, and all the fields planted beside the Nile will dry up, be blown away, and disappear. 8Fishermen will cry. All who cast their lines into the Nile will mourn. Those who spread their nets on the water will sigh.
Read all of Isaiah 19Isaiah 19:6 word by word
וְהֶאֶזְנִ֣יחוּ נְהָר֔וֹת דָּלֲל֥וּ וְחָרְב֖וּ יְאֹרֵ֣י מָצ֑וֹר קָנֶ֥ה וָס֖וּף קָמֵֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they shall turnזָנַחzânach · to rejectH2186
- the riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
- the brooksיְאֹרye'ôr · NileH2975
- of defenceמָצוֹרmâtsôr · EgyptH4693
- shall be emptiedדָּלַלdâlal · to languishH1809
- and dried upחָרֵבchârab chârêb · to dryH2717
- the reedsקָנֶהqâneh · branch: stemH7070
- and flagsסוּףsûph · reedH5488
- shall witherקָמֵלqâmal · to decayH7060
Cross-references for Isaiah 19:6
- Isaiah 37:25I’ll dig wells and drink water. I’ll dry up all the streams of Egypt with the trampling of my feet.”
- 2 Kings 19:24I’ll dig wells and drink foreign water. I’ll dry up all the streams of Egypt with the trampling of my feet.”
- Isaiah 18:2It sends messengers by sea in boats made of reeds ⌞skimming⌟ over the surface of the water. Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth-skinned people, a people ⌞who are⌟ feared far and near, a strong and aggressive nation, whose land is divided by rivers.
- Exodus 2:3When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River.
- Job 8:11“Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp? Can rushes grow tall without water?
Commentaries on Isaiah 19:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Shall turn the rivers far away "Shall become putrid" - האזניחו heeznichu . This sense of the word, which Simonis gives in his Lexicon, from the meaning of it in Arabic, suits the place much better than any other interpretation hitherto given; and that the word in Hebrew had some such signification, is probable from 2 Chronicles 29:19, where the Vulgate renders it by polluit, polluted, and the Targum, by profaned, and made abominable, which the context in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6And they shall turn the rivers far away - (האזיּחוּ he'ezenı̂ychû ), probably from זנח zânach “to have an offensive smell; to be rancid, or putrid.” The word in this form occurs nowhere else. It is in the Hiphil conjugation, and is probably a form made from a mixture with the Chaldee. The sense is not doubtful. It means the rivers shall become putrid - or have an offensive smell;‘ that is, shall become stagnant, and send forth unwholesome “miasmata”…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-10Egypt relied heavily on the Nile for food, fish, and industry. When the Lord struck the Nile, Egypt would face severe difficulties, and its gods would not be able to help.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. they shall turn the rivers--rather, "the streams shall become putrid"; that is, the artificial streams made for irrigation shall become stagnant and offensive when the waters fail [Maurer]. Horsley, with the Septuagint, translates, "And waters from the sea shall be drunk"; by the failure of the river water they shall be reduced to sea water. brooks of defence--rather, "canals of Egypt"; "canals," literally, "Niles," Nile canals, the plural of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 19:6
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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