Isaiah 19:15
in Isaiah 19There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
KJV
Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
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This verse in Isaiah 19
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Neither 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 the nation, and by the tail the “sacerdotal” ranks.
This site's exposition
a perverse spirit
on Isaiah 19:14-15
The Lord himself is said to have mingled a perverse spirit in the midst of Egypt, so that the nation errs in everything it undertakes like a drunken man staggering in his own vomit, a deliberately degrading image the commentators do not soften. Verse 15 closes the point with a proverb: no work, whether by head or tail, branch or rush, can succeed for a people whose whole leadership and following alike have been given over to confusion. Gill notes the same phrase, head and tail, branch and rush, falls earlier at 9:14-15 naming ruler and prophet, and Barnes reads this chapter's use of it as tying Egypt's collapse to the same totalizing judgment worked out earlier in the book.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse. 14, 15.) The Lord mixed in its midst the spirit of dizziness: and he caused Egypt to wander in all its work, like a drunkard and a vomiter: and Egypt will have no work that it does, bending and restraining head and tail. First let us speak about the interpretation, and afterwards we will discuss what is written. The spirit of dizziness can also be interpreted as the spirit of error. In addition, in what we have translated as bending and restraining, we can say bending and lascivious, so that we understand old man and child.
(Verse 12 and following) How can you say to Pharaoh: I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. The princes of Tanis have become foolish, the princes of Memphis are deluded; the leaders of Egypt have led it astray. The Lord has poured into them a spirit of confusion; they have made Egypt stagger in all its undertakings, as a drunkard staggers and vomits.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, the error of the people themselves: and they have caused Egypt to err. Head, namely, neither with respect to the beginning; tail, nor the end; that bends down, in respect to the old man; that holds back, in respect to the youth, who lacks …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That at length God's holy religion should be brought into Egypt, and set up there, in part by the Jews that should flee thither for refuge, but more fully by the preachers of the gospel of Christ, through whose ministry churches should be planted in Egypt in the says of the Messiah (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Neither shall there be any work for Egypt,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, The flourishing of a kingdom depends much upon the industry of the people; and then things are likely to do well when all hands are at work, when the head and top-branch do not disdain to labour, and the labour of the tail and rush is not disdained.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The 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.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְמִצְרַ֖יִם | lemitzrayim | for Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| מַֽעֲשֶׂ֑ה | maaseh | a deed | H4639 → | 236 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֛ה | yaaseh | it will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| רֹ֥אשׁ | rosh | head | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וְזָנָ֖ב | vezanav | and tail | H2180 → | 11 times |
| כִּפָּ֥ה | kipah | palm branch | H3712 → | |
| וְאַגְמֽוֹן׃ ס | veagmon | and bulrush | H100 → | 5 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְמִצְרַ֖יִםfor Egypt
lemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
מַֽעֲשֶׂ֑הa deed
maasehH4639 →236 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֛הit will do
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
רֹ֥אשׁhead
roshH7218 →599 times
וְזָנָ֖בand tail
vezanavH2180 →11 times
כִּפָּ֥הpalm branch
kipahH3712 →
וְאַגְמֽוֹן׃ סand bulrush
veagmonH100 →5 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 14:23There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:19
The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
- Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10–12
For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- Hebrews 6:10–11
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- Ecclesiastes 5:3
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
- Proverbs 28:19
Through
Habakkuk 3:17Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold…
it leads to
- Joel 1:16–18
Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes—joy and gladness from the house of our God?
- Jeremiah 5:17
They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword…
- Deuteronomy 28:15–18
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Joel 1:16–18
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.