Isaiah 30:25

30:25 On every high mountain

and every high hill

there will be streams flowing with water,

at the time of ¹  great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.

Isaiah 35:6-7

35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,

the mute tongue will shout for joy;

for water will flow ²  in the desert,

streams in the wilderness. ³ 

35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,

the parched ground springs of water.

Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,

grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.

Isaiah 41:17-18

41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched from thirst.

I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; ⁴ 

I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

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! ⁵  Do you not recognize ⁶  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁷  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 49:10

49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;

the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them, ⁸ 

for one who has compassion on them will guide them;

he will lead them to springs of water.

Jeremiah 31:9

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. ⁹ 

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble. ¹⁰ 

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim ¹¹  is my firstborn son.’”

[30:25]  ¹ tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).

[35:6]  ² tn Heb “burst forth” (so NAB); KJV “break out.”

[35:6]  ³ tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT “desert.”

[41:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[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”).

[49:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”

[31:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “They will come with weeping; I will bring them with supplication.” The ideas of contrition and repentance are implicit from the context (cf. vv. 18-19) and are supplied for clarity.

[31:9]  ¹⁰ sn Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8. See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8).

[31:9]  ¹¹ sn Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6).