New English Translation
Isaiah 19:6
6The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up; the bulrushes and reeds will decay,
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 Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them,” says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies. 5The water of the sea will be dried up, and the river will dry up and be empty. The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up; the bulrushes and reeds will decay, 7along with the plants by the mouth of the river. All the cultivated land near the river will turn to dust and be blown away. 8The fishermen will mourn and lament, all those who cast a fishhook into the river, and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.
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 dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’
- 2 Kings 19:24I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’
- Isaiah 18:2that sends messengers by sea, who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus. Go, you swift messengers, to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, to a people that are feared far and wide, to a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide.
- Exodus 2:3But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile.
- Job 8:11Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish 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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