Isaiah 19:7
in Isaiah 19The bulrushes by the Nile, by the mouth of the river, and all the fields sown along the Nile, will wither, blow away, and be no more.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
KJV
The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 19
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks,.... Not at the fountain or origin of the Nile and its streams, but by the sides thereof; on the banks of which grew a reed or rush, called by the Greeks "papyrus" and "biblus"; from whence come the words "paper" and "bible", or book, of which paper was anciently made; even as early as the times of Isaiah, and so, many hundreds of years before the times of Alexander the great, to which some fix the era of making it.
This site's exposition
The paper reeds by the brooks
on Isaiah 19:7-10
Three trades built on the Nile fall together: the reeds and flags wither at the water's edge, the fishers who cast angle and spread nets mourn and languish, and the weavers of fine flax and networks are confounded, a picture of Egypt's fishing and linen industries specifically named. Even the engineered ponds and sluices built to guarantee a catch fail their makers, so that every level of the river economy, from the wild fisherman to the planned pool, is broken in its own purposes. Gill and Clarke identify the linen trade as Egypt's chief export in Isaiah's day, making the collapse a judgment aimed at the nation's real wealth rather than a generic curse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verses 5-7) And the water of the sea shall dry up, and the river shall be desolate and dry, and the streams shall diminish and dry up the water-courses. The reed and the rush shall wither, the channel of the river shall be laid bare and all the irrigated seed shall dry up, wither, and not exist. It is natural that when captivity comes through the anger of God, his wrath shall be followed by pestilence, and all the elements shall rage against those who offend God. Where it is written in another Prophet (Jer. XII), 'And the birds in the air fail, and the fishes in the waters, so that all things are taken away from human use.' We say this if we want to take the dryness of the Nile river and its streams simply. But if we take it as a metaphor: in the river, we understand the kingdom, and in its streams, the leaders; and in the greenness, and the reed, and the papyrus, all the abundance of Egypt, so that through these things, the wealth of Egypt is described, of which Egypt is most fertile. Let us read Ezekiel, where the king Pharaoh is described as a great dragon dwelling in the rivers, and says: The river is mine, and I have made myself. And it is heard: I will put a bit in your jaws, and I will stick the fish of your rivers to your scales, and I will draw you out from the midst of your rivers, and all your fish will cling to your scales, and I will cast you into the desert (Ezek. XXIX, 3, 4). However, in the coming of Christ, all these things are to be understood figuratively, according to what we read above: The Lord will make the sea of Egypt a desert. And again: the Lord will stretch out His hand over the violent river of Egypt, and He will strike it in seven valleys, so that it can be crossed by foot with shoes on. […]
(Verset 5 et suiv.) And the sea water will dry up, and the river will be deserted and dried up, and the rivers will fail, and the streams of the embankments will be thin and dry up. The reed and the rush will wither, the bed of the river will be exposed from its source, and all irrigated crops will dry up. It will dry up and cease to exist.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, he sets out the ruin from the drought, shall be laid bare: first, the ruin of agriculture, from its fountain, that is, from its beginning, or this to the end: he has turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If the paper-reeds by the brooks, at the very mouth of them, wither, much more the corn, which lies at a greater distance, but derives its moisture from them. Yet this is not all; the drying up of their rivers is the destruction, 1. Of their fortifications, for they are brooks of defence (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Paper-reeds - These by a needle, or other fit instrument, were divided into thin and broad leaves, which being dried and fitted, were used at that time for writing; and consequently was a very good commodity. By brooks - And much more what was sown in more dry and unfruitful places.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The paper reeds - (ערות ‛ârôt). This is not the word which occurs in Isa 18:2, and which, it is supposed, means there the papyrus (see the note on that place). Interpreters have been divided in regard to the meaning of the word here. Gesenius derives it from ערה ‛ârâh, “to be naked, open, bare;” and supposes that it means an open place, a place naked of wood, and that it here denotes the pastures on the banks of the Nile.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
paper-reeds--rather, pastures, literally, "places naked" of wood, and famed for rich herbage, on the banks of the Nile [GESENIUS]. HORSLEY translates, "nakedness upon the river," descriptive of the appearance of a river when its bottom is bare and its banks stripped of verdure by long drought: so Vulgate. the brooks--the river. mouth--rather, "the source" [Vulgate].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָר֥וֹת | arot | reeds | H6169 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְא֖וֹר | yeor | [the] River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְא֑וֹר | yeor | [the] River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| וְכֹל֙ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִזְרַ֣ע | mizra' | [the] sown land of | H4218 → | |
| יְא֔וֹר | yeor | [the] River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| יִיבַ֥שׁ | yivash | it will be dry | H3001 → | 59 times |
| נִדַּ֖ף | nidaf | it will be driven about | H5086 → | |
| וְאֵינֶֽנּוּ׃ | veeinenu | and there not [will be] it | H369 → | 789 times |
עָר֥וֹתreeds
arotH6169 →
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְא֖וֹר[the] River
yeorH2975 →65 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
יְא֑וֹר[the] River
yeorH2975 →65 times
וְכֹל֙and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מִזְרַ֣ע[the] sown land of
mizra'H4218 →
יְא֔וֹר[the] River
yeorH2975 →65 times
יִיבַ֥שׁit will be dry
yivashH3001 →59 times
נִדַּ֖ףit will be driven about
nidafH5086 →
וְאֵינֶֽנּוּ׃and there not [will be] it
veeinenuH369 →789 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
Isaiah 32:20Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters, who let the ox and donkey range freely.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 11:1
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
- Isaiah 30:23–24
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will…
- Isaiah 55:10–11
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
- Ecclesiastes 11:1
Through
Jeremiah 14:4The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
it leads to
- Joel 1:19–20
To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.
- Joel 1:11
Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
- Jeremiah 3:3
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
- Leviticus 26:19–20
I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,
- Joel 1:19–20
Through
Ezekiel 19:13Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:3
Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her…
- Hosea 2:3
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.