New Living Translation
Isaiah 19:6
6The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes.
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 hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,” says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes. 7All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away. 8The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart.
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 have dug wells in many foreign lands and refreshed myself with their water. With the sole of my foot, I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’
- 2 Kings 19:24I have dug wells in many foreign lands and refreshed myself with their water. With the sole of my foot I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’
- Isaiah 18:2that sends ambassadors in swift boats down the river. Go, swift messengers! Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers.
- Exodus 2:3But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.
- Job 8:11“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries