Isaiah 19 · Verse 15

Isaiah 19:15

Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
Isaiah 19:15, King James Version

Isaiah 19:15 in other translations

BSBThere is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm or reed.
WEBNeither shall there be any work for Egypt, which head or tail, palm branch or rush, may do.
ASVNeither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
YLTAnd there is no work to Egypt, That head or tail, branch or reed, may do.
DARBYNeither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
BBEAnd in Egypt there will be no work for any man, head or tail, high or low, to do.
WebsterNeither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may perform.

What does Isaiah 19:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
15. work for Egypt--nothing which Egypt can do to extricate itself from the difficulty. head or tail--high or low (Is 19:11-15, and Is 19:8-10). branch or rush--the lofty palm branch or the humble reed (Is 9:14, 15; 10:33, 34).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 The head or tail, branch or rush - R. D. Kimchi says, there are some who suppose that these words mean the dragon's head and tail; and refer to all those who are conversant in astronomy, astrology, etc.

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 19:15 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.

וְלֹֽא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
יִהְיֶ֥הyih.Yehit will beH1961
לְמִצְרַ֖יִםle.mitz.Ra.yimfor EgyptH4714
מַֽעֲשֶׂ֑הma.'a.Seha deedH4639
אֲשֶׁ֧ר'a.SherwhichH834
יַעֲשֶׂ֛הya.'a.Sehit will doH6213
רֹ֥אשׁroshheadH7218
וְזָנָ֖בve.za.Navand tailH2180
כִּפָּ֥הki.Pahpalm branchH3712
וְאַגְמֽוֹן\׃\ \סve.'ag.Monand bulrushH100

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

Cross references for Isaiah 19:15

  • Isaiah 9:14-15

    Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

  • Psalms 128:2

    For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

  • Proverbs 14:23

    In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

  • Habakkuk 3:17

    Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

  • Haggai 1:11

    And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

    And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:14,15; Ps 128:2; Pr 14:23; Hab 3:17; Hag 1:11; 1Th 4:11,12

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

Context

  • Isaiah 19:14

    The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

  • Isaiah 19:15

    Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

  • Isaiah 19:16

    In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

Read all of Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y no aprovechará á Egipto cosa que haga la cabeza ó la cola, el ramo ó el junco.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et il n’y aura pas pour l’Égypte une œuvre que puisse faire tête ou queue, branche de palmier ou jonc.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und von Ägypten wird keine Tat geschehen, welche Haupt oder Schwanz, Palmzweig oder Binse verrichte. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et non erit Ægypto opus quod faciat caput et caudam, incurvantem et refrenantem.