Isaiah 19:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.

NIV: The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.

NASB: And the fishermen will grieve, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.

CSB: Then the fishermen will mourn. All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will give up.

NLT: The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart.

KJV: The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

NKJV: The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.

Even during the most unsettled times in the ancient Near East, Egypt was generally strong and self-reliant. Its geographical region made it more difficult to conquer than other nations. But it was the ever-flowing Nile River and all the predictable bounty it provided that allowed the Egyptians to thrive even when other nations suffered. Droughts, wars, and upheavals did not affect them the same way as other nations. However, when the Nile failed to flood, the nation would be destitute (Genesis 41:1–4, 28–31).

The Lord is insisting that the people of Judah should not try to avoid disaster by turning to Egypt for help. He wants Israel to trust in Him alone, even under the threat of mighty enemies such as the Assyrians or Babylonians. To show His people how unreliable Egypt is to save them, the Lord describes what will happen when He stops the Nile from flowing (Isaiah 19:5–7).

Isaiah has already described the loss of vegetation and the farmland produced by the annual flooding. Egypt's famous wheat harvests will end. Now the Lord says that the same will be true of the fishing industry. All who earn their living fishing from the river will lament the lack of means to care for their families. The nation will lose another source of food, and the fisherman would lose the ability to provide for their own.

Isaiah 19:1–15 is an oracle against the nation of Egypt. Isaiah describes the Lord, not Egypt's imaginary god Baal, as arriving on a swift cloud to judge the nation. The hearts of the people will melt, and their spirits will be emptied out. They will turn on each other. Neither their gods nor their wise men will be able to save them. Even the Nile River will dry up. Yet, in the kingdom of the Messiah, Egypt will turn to the Lord and be blessed by Him.

Isaiah's oracle describes the Lord's coming judgment on Egypt. The idols will fear when God arrives, and the people will turn on each other. A fierce king will conquer them. The Nile River will dry up, leaving many destitute. The advisors serving Egypt's leaders will be revealed as confused fools. Far in the future, Egypt will recognize Israel's God and repent, turning to worship the Lord. Assyria will join in that worship, blessing the earth along with Egypt and Israel.

Isaiah 19 introduces the next oracle against the nations of the earth. The Lord has been showing His people not to put their trust and hope in the foreign nations or their gods. They are to trust in Him alone to save them. The Lord's arrival in Egypt reveals the worthlessness of idols and spiritists. The terrified people will turn on each other. They will become destitute when the Nile dries up and the wise are shown to be foolish. In the far future, Egypt will worship the Lord and be blessed by Him.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).