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Isaiah 37:25
I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

2 Kings 19:24
I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

the reeds

Isaiah 18:2
That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

Exodus 2:3
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laidit in the flags by the river's brink.

Job 8:11
Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?

the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up;
The streams refer to the smaller branches and tributaries of the Nile. The drying up of these waters would have catastrophic effects on agriculture, leading to famine and economic collapse. Historically, Egypt's prosperity was heavily dependent on the Nile's annual flooding, which deposited fertile silt on the land. The prophecy of the streams drying up underscores the theme of divine intervention disrupting natural and expected cycles. This can be seen as a metaphor for spiritual dryness and the consequences of turning away from God, as seen in other scriptures likeJeremiah 17:5-6, where trust in man leads to desolation.

the reeds and rushes will wither.
Reeds and rushes were common along the Nile and were used for various purposes, including making papyrus and as fodder for livestock. Their withering signifies the broader ecological and economic impact of the drying waters. This imagery highlights the totality of the judgment, affecting not just water but also the vegetation and industries dependent on it. The withering of reeds and rushes can also symbolize the fragility of human achievements and the transience of earthly glory, as echoed inIsaiah 40:6-8, where human life and accomplishments are compared to grass that withers. This serves as a reminder of the need for reliance on the eternal Word of God.

– Isaiah pictures the man-made irrigation channels that crisscrossed Egypt turning foul. When God withholds His blessing, even the engineering feats people trust most become a source of misery.

– Similar judgment fell inExodus 7:18,21: “The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink.” Isaiah echoes that earlier plague, reminding readers that the Lord who once humbled Pharaoh can do so again.

–Psalm 78:44 recalls the same event, underscoring a consistent biblical theme: when a nation exalts itself, God can strike its most prized resource.

– Practical takeaway: water, industry, and public health stand or fall at God’s command. Modern believers see in this a sober call to humility and gratitude for everyday mercies.

– The phrase moves from odor to outright absence. The Nile’s tributaries, life-giving arteries for crops and commerce, are pictured shrinking to nothing.

–Ezekiel 30:12 reinforces the threat: “I will dry up the streams of the Nile.”Job 12:15 adds, “If He withholds the waters, they dry up.”

– Diminished flow would devastate agriculture, transportation, and the economy; Isaiah’s audience would grasp that this is no mere inconvenience but an existential crisis.

–Revelation 16:12 shows a future judgment where another great river dries up, hinting that God’s ability to close the tap is timeless.

– Application: dependence on natural resources must never eclipse dependence on their Creator.

– With water gone, the vegetation lining the riverbanks—papyrus reeds used for paper, rushes for baskets and mats—crumbles. This pictures ecological collapse and the death of related industries.

–Isaiah 19:7 continues, “The bulrushes by the Nile…will dry up,” confirming the sequence.

–Isaiah 40:7 states, “The grass withers…the breath of the LORD blows on it”;James 1:11 uses the same imagery for human pursuits. Egypt’s famed papyrus fields serve as a visual sermon on mortality and the futility of pride.

– For followers of Christ, the withering reeds call us to invest in what endures: obedience, righteousness, and the furthering of the gospel.

Isaiah 19:6 delivers a three-part picture of divine judgment: foul water, failing supply, and withering life. Each step dismantles the pillars of Egypt’s security—health, economy, and natural beauty—showing that the Lord holds ultimate authority over creation. Believers today are reminded that every canal, stream, and blade of grass thrives only by His sustaining hand; therefore, true wisdom lies in reverent trust and wholehearted submission to Him.

The brooks of defence.--The latter noun (Heb.,matzor) is better treated as a proper name, the singular of the dual form Mitsraim, commonly used for Egypt. Here it would seem to be used for Lower Egypt, the region of Zoan and Memphis, as distinct from Upper Egypt or the Thebaid. The same form occurs inIsaiah 37:25;2Kings 19:24;Micah 7:12. Its primary meaning is that of a fortified land. The "flags" are strictly the papyrus of the Nile; the "brooks" are thecanalsor Nile-branches of the Delta.