Isaiah 19 · Verse 10

Isaiah 19:10

And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
Isaiah 19:10, King James Version

Isaiah 19:10 in other translations

BSBThe workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart.
WEBThe pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.
ASVAnd the pillars of Egypt shall be broken in pieces; all they that work for hire shall be grieved in soul.
YLTAnd its foundations have been smitten, All making wages are afflicted in soul.
DARBYAnd her pillars shall be broken in pieces, and all workers for hire shall be sad of soul.
BBEAnd the makers of twisted thread will be crushed, and those who... will be sad in heart.
WebsterAnd they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

What does Isaiah 19:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. in the purposes--rather, "the foundations," that is, "the nobles shall be broken" or brought low: so Is 3:1; Psa 11:3; compare Is 19:13, "The princes--the stay of the tribes. The Arabs call a prince "a pillar of the people" [Maurer]. "Their weaving-frames" [Horsley]. "Dykes" [Barnes]. all that make sluices, &c.--"makers of dams," made to confine the waters which overflow from the Nile in artificial fish-ponds [Horsley]. "Makers of gain," that is, the common people who have to earn their livelihood, as opposed to the "nobles" previously [Maurer].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 And they shall be broken, etc. "Her stores" - שתתיה shathotheyha, αποθηκαι, granaries. - Aquila. All that make sluices and ponds for fish "All that make a gain of pools for fish" - This obscure line is rendered by different interpreters in very different manners. Kimchi explains אגמי agmey as if it were the same with אגמה agemah, from Job 30:25, in which he is followed by some of the rabbins, and supported by the Septuagint: and שכר secher, which I translate gain, and which some take for nets or enclosures, the Septuagint render by ζυθον, strong drink or beer, which it is well known was much used in Egypt; and so likewise the Syriac, retaining the Hebrew word שכרא sekra. I submit these very different interpretations to the reader's judgment. The Version of the Septuagint is as follows: Και παντες οἱ ποιουντες τον ζυθον λυπηθησονται, και τας ψυχας πονεσουσι· "And all they that make barley wine shall mourn, and be grieved in soul."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 19:1-17

Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25) Verses 1-17 God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they repent. The Egyptians will be given over…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 19:1-17 →

Isaiah 19:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהָי֥וּve.ha.Yuand they will beH1961
שָׁתֹתֶ֖יהָsha.to.Tei.hafoundations itsH8356
מְדֻכָּאִ֑יםme.du.ka.'ImcrushedH1792
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
עֹ֥שֵׂי'O.sei[those who] work ofH6213
שֶׂ֖כֶרSe.kherwage[s]H7938
אַגְמֵי\־'ag.mei-[will be] grieved ofH99
נָֽפֶשׁ\׃Na.feshsoulH5315

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 19:10

  • Exodus 8:5

    And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.

  • Exodus 7:19

    And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

  • Deuteronomy 11:10

    For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
purposes. Heb. foundations. make.
Ex 7:19; 8:5; De 11:10
for fish. or, of living things.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 19:9

    Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

  • Isaiah 19:10

    And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

  • Isaiah 19:11

    Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

Read all of Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque todas sus redes serán rotas: y se entristecerán todos los que hacen viveros para peces.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et les colonnes du pays sont brisées; tous ceux qui gagnent un salaire ont l’âme attristée.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und seine Grundpfeiler sind zerschlagen; alle, die um Lohn arbeiten, sind seelenbetrübt. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et erunt irrigua ejus flaccentia: omnes qui faciebant lacunas ad capiendos pisces.