Isaiah 19:9
in Isaiah 19The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave white cloth, shall be confounded.
KJV
Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
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This verse in Isaiah 19
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Moreover - In addition to the calamities that will come upon the fishermen, the drying up of the river will affect all who are supported by that which the overflowing of its waters produced. They that work in short flax - Egypt was celebrated anciently for producing flax in large quantities, and of a superior quality (see Exo 9:31; 1Ki 10:28). The fine linen of Egypt which was manufactured from this is celebrated in Scripture Pro 7:16; Eze 27:7. The Egyptians had early carried the art of manufacturing linen to a great degree of perfection.
This site's exposition
The bulrushes by the Nile
on Isaiah 19:7-10
The trades of the Nile fall: "the fishermen will mourn", and "The workers in flax will be dismayed". Verse 10 carries the loss down to "all the hired workers". Gill and Clarke identify linen as the chief export of Egypt in Isaiah's day, the real wealth of the nation.
This site's exposition
The workers in flax will be dismayed
Flax grows in wet ground, and the flax of Egypt had already been struck once, in the hail of Exodus 9:31. Clarke explains fine flax as combed flax. The weaver of fine linen depends on the water of the Nile.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(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.
(v. 8-10) And the fishermen shall mourn, and all those who cast the hook into the river shall lament, and those who spread the net over the face of the water shall wither away. And those who work with flax, twisting and weaving fine fabrics, shall be put to shame; and its pools shall be dried up, and all those who make fishing-gear for catching fish shall mourn.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, the ruin of various craftsmen, they shall be confounded that wrought in flax, which is raised in wet places. Flaccid, that is, parched, pools, fish ponds.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), either for want of flax to work on or for want of a demand for that which they have worked or opportunity to export it. The decay of trade weakens and wastes a nation and by degrees brings it to ruin. The trade of Egypt must needs sink, for (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
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
Moreover they that work in fine flax,.... Of which they made fine linen cloth, and yarn, and was much wore by the Egyptians, and was the commodity of the country, and for which other nations traded with them, 1Ki 10:28 but now would have no flax to work, that being withered and gone which was sown by the sides of the brooks, Isa 19:7 and no linen cloth or yarn to sell, and consequently in great confusion and distress, as they are here represented (l).
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fine flax--GESENIUS, for "fine," translates, "combed"; fine "linen" was worn by the rich only (Lu 16:19). Egypt was famous for it (Ex 9:31; The processes of its manufacture are represented on the Egyptian tombs.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
They that work in fine flax - פשתים שריקות pishtim sericoth, heckled flax, i.e., flax dressed on the heckle, or comb used for that purpose. The Vulgate uses the word pectentes, combing. They that weave networks shall be confounded - And confounden schul ben that wrogten flax, plattinge and webynge sotel thingis. - Old MS. Bible.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And its foundations shall be crushed, all who make dams Eklusa in O.F., a sluice. Comp.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And there shall be trodden under foot the well watered place, where they have been making pits, waterpools each for himself.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבֹ֛שׁוּ | uvoshu | and they will be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| עֹבְדֵ֥י | ʾoedei | workers of | H5647 → | 288 times |
| פִשְׁתִּ֖ים | fishtim | flax<es> | H6593 → | |
| שְׂרִיק֑וֹת | serikot | combed | H8305 → | |
| וְאֹרְגִ֖ים | veoregim | and [those who] weave | H707 → | 13 times |
| חוֹרָֽי׃ | chorai | white cloth | H2355 → |
וּבֹ֛שׁוּand they will be ashamed
uvoshuH954 →127 times
עֹבְדֵ֥יworkers of
ʾoedeiH5647 →288 times
פִשְׁתִּ֖יםflax<es>
fishtimH6593 →
שְׂרִיק֑וֹתcombed
serikotH8305 →
וְאֹרְגִ֖יםand [those who] weave
veoregimH707 →13 times
חוֹרָֽי׃white cloth
choraiH2355 →
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
1 Kings 10:28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:16
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
- 2 Chronicles 9:28
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all the lands.
- Isaiah 31:1–3
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Isaiah 36:9
For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- 2 Chronicles 1:16–17
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
- Deuteronomy 17:16
Through
Ezekiel 27:7Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:28
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 25:4
blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair;
- Jeremiah 10:9
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
- 1 Kings 10:28
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.