Isaiah 19:6

19:6 The canals ¹  will stink; ² 

the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;

the bulrushes and reeds will decay,

Isaiah 42:15

42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; ³ 

I will dry up all their vegetation.

I will turn streams into islands, ⁴ 

and dry up pools of water. ⁵ 

Isaiah 47:2

47:2 Pick up millstones and grind flour!

Remove your veil,

strip off your skirt,

expose your legs,

cross the streams!

Isaiah 41:18

41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes

and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.

I will turn the desert into a pool of water

and the arid land into springs.

Isaiah 43:19-20

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ⁶  Do you not recognize ⁷  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁸  in the wilderness.

43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,

the jackals and ostriches,

because I put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness,

to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

Isaiah 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ⁹ 

Is my hand too weak ¹⁰  to deliver ¹¹  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹²  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹³ 

[19:6]  ¹ tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”

[19:6]  ² tn The verb form appears as a Hiphil in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a; the form in MT may be a so-called “mixed form,” reflecting the Hebrew Hiphil stem and the functionally corresponding Aramaic Aphel stem. See HALOT 276 s.v. I זנח.

[42:15]  ³ tn Heb “I will dry up the mountains and hills.” The “mountains and hills” stand by synecdoche for the trees that grow on them. Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonymic root and translate, “I will lay waste.”

[42:15]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will turn streams into coastlands [or “islands”].” Scholars who believe that this reading makes little sense have proposed an emendation of אִיִּים (’iyyim, “islands”) to צִיּוֹת (tsiyyot, “dry places”; cf. NCV, NLT, TEV). However, since all the versions support the MT reading, there is insufficient grounds for an emendation here. Although the imagery of changing rivers into islands is somewhat strange, J. N. Oswalt describes this imagery against the backdrop of rivers of the Near East. The receding of these rivers at times occasioned the appearance of previously submerged islands (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:126).

[42:15]  ⁵ sn The imagery of this verse, which depicts the Lord bringing a curse of infertility to the earth, metaphorically describes how the Lord will destroy his enemies.

[43:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ⁶ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[50:2]  ⁷ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ⁹ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”