New International Version
Isaiah 41:17
17“The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Isaiah 41:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
Context of Isaiah 41:17
15“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. 16You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel. “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. 19I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
Read all of Isaiah 41Isaiah 41:17 word by word
הָעֲנִיִּ֨ים וְהָאֶבְיוֹנִ֜ים מְבַקְשִׁ֥ים מַ֙יִם֙ וָאַ֔יִן לְשׁוֹנָ֖ם בַּצָּמָ֣א נָשָׁ֑תָּה אֲנִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֶעֱנֵ֔ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֹ֥א אֶעֶזְבֵֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- the poorעָנִי‛ânîy · afflictedH6041
- and needyאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
- seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- their tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
- failethנָשַׁתnâshath · be dryH5405
- for thirstצָמָאtsâmâ' · thirstH6772
- I the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- will hearעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- will not forsakeעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
Cross-references for Isaiah 41:17
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
- Isaiah 66:2Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.
- Psalms 68:9You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.
- Psalms 72:12For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.
- Psalms 102:16For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
- Matthew 5:3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Isaiah 55:1“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
- Exodus 17:3But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
- Psalms 42:2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
- Psalms 63:1You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
- Amos 8:11“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
- Matthew 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- John 4:10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
- John 7:37On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
- Revelation 21:6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Commentaries on Isaiah 41:17
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17When the poor and needy seek water - Water is often used in the Scriptures as an emblem of the provisions of divine mercy. Bursting fountains in a desert, and flowing streams unexpectedly met with in a dry and thirsty land, are often also employed to denote the comfort and refreshment which the gospel furnishes to sinful and suffering man in his journey through this world. The poor and needy‘ here, doubtless refer primarily to the afflicted captives in…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 God speaks with tenderness; Fear thou not, for I am with thee: not only within call, but present with thee. Art thou weak? I will strengthen thee. Art thou in want of friends? I will help thee in the time of need. Art thou ready to fall? I will uphold thee with that right hand which is full of righteousness, dealing forth rewards and punishments. There are those that strive with God's people, that seek their ruin. Let not God's people render…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. poor and needy--primarily, the exiles in Babylon. water--figuratively, refreshment, prosperity after their affliction. The language is so constructed as only very partially to apply to the local and temporary event of the restoration from Babylon; but fully to be realized in the waters of life and of the Spirit, under the Gospel (Is 30:25; 44:3; Joh 7:37-39; 4:14). God wrought no miracles that we read of, in any wilderness, during the return from…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 41:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 41
- 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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