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.
• 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.
• 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 officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray. 14The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit. There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed. 16In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty is planning 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 will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day;
• Psalms 128:2You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
• Proverbs 14:23All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
• Habakkuk 3:17Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
• Haggai 1:11I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”
• 1 Thessalonians 4:11and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told 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
• 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