Isaiah 48 · Verse 21

Isaiah 48:21

And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
Isaiah 48:21, King James Version

Isaiah 48:21 in other translations

BSBThey did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.
WEBThey didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He also split the rock and the waters gushed out.
ASVAnd they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
YLTAnd they have not thirsted in waste places, He hath caused them to go on, Waters from a rock he hath caused to flow to them, Yea, he cleaveth a rock, and flow do waters.
DARBYAnd they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; yea, he clave the rock, and the waters gushed out.
BBEThey had no need of water when he was guiding them through the waste lands: he made water come out of the rock for them: the rock was parted and the waters came flowing out.
WebsterAnd they thirsted not, when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he cleaved the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

What does Isaiah 48:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. Ezra, in describing the return, makes no mention of God cleaving the rock for them in the desert [Kimchi]. The circumstances, therefore, of the deliverance from Egypt (Ex 17:6; Nu 20:11; Psa 78:15; 105:41) and of that from Babylon, are blended together; the language, while more immediately referring to the latter deliverance, yet, as being blended with circumstances of the former not strictly applicable to the latter, cannot wholly refer to either, but to the mystic deliverance of man under Messiah, and literally to the final restoration of Israel.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 They thirsted not - through the deserts - Kimchi has a surprising observation upon this place: "If the prophecy," says he, "relates to the return from the Babylonish captivity, as it seems to do, it is to be wondered how it comes to pass, that in the Book of Ezra, in which he gives an account of their return, no mention is made that such miracles were wrought for them; as, for instance, that God clave the rock for them in the desert." It is really much to be wondered, that one of the most learned and judicious of the Jewish expositors of the Old Testament, having advanced so far in a large Comment on Isaiah, should appear to be totally ignorant of the prophet's manner of writing; of the parabolic style, which prevails in the writings of all the prophets, and more particularly in the prophecy of Isaiah, which abounds throughout in parabolical images from the beginning ts the end; from "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth," to "the worm and the fire" in the last verse. And how came he to keep his wonderment to himself so long? Why did he not expect that the historian should have related how, as they passed through the desert, cedars, pines, and olive-trees shot up at once on the side of the way to shade them; and that instead of briers and brambles the acacia and the myrtle sprung up under their feet, according to God's promises, Isa 41:19 and Isa 55:13? These and a multitude of the like parabolical or poetical images, were never intended to be understood literally. All that the prophet designed in this place, and which he has executed in the most elegant manner, was an amplification and illustration of the gracious care and protection of God vouchsafed to his people in their return from Babylon, by an allusion to the miraculous exodus from Egypt. See De S. Poesi, Hebr. Prael. ix.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 48:16-22

The Holy Spirit qualifies for service; and those may speak boldly, whom God and his Spirit send. This is to be applied to Christ. He was sent, and he had the Spirit without measure. Whom God redeems, he teaches; he teaches to profit by affliction, and then makes them partakers of his holiness. Also, by his grace he leads them in the way of duty; and by his providence he leads in the way of deliverance. God did not…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 48:16-22 →

Isaiah 48:21 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.

וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808
צָמְא֗וּtza.me.'Uthey were thirstyH6770
בָּחֳרָבוֹת֙bo.cho.ra.Vot[when] in [the] waste placesH2723
הֽוֹלִיכָ֔םho.li.Khamhe led themH1980
מַ֥יִםMa.yimwaterH4325
מִצּ֖וּרmi.Tzurfrom a rockH6697
הִזִּ֣ילhi.Zilhe caused to flowH5140
לָ֑מוֹla.mofor them
וַיִּ֨בְקַע\־vai.Yiv.ka'-and he split openH1234
צ֔וּרTzura rockH6697
וַיָּזֻ֖בוּvai.ya.Zu.vuand they flowed outH2100
מָֽיִם\׃Ma.yimwatersH4325

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

Cross references for Isaiah 48:21

  • Isaiah 43:19-20

    Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

  • Psalms 105:41

    He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

  • Isaiah 41:17-18

    When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

  • Exodus 17:6

    Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

  • Psalms 78:20

    Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

  • Numbers 20:11

    And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

  • Isaiah 35:6-7

    Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

  • Nehemiah 9:15

    And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

  • Isaiah 30:25

    And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

  • Isaiah 49:10

    They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

  • Psalms 78:15

    He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.

  • Jeremiah 31:9

    They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
they thirsted.
30:25; 35:6,7; 41:17,18; 43:19,20; 49:10; Jer 31:9
he caused.
Ex 17:6; Nu 20:11; Ne 9:15; Ps 78:15,20; 105:41

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

Context

  • Isaiah 48:20

    Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

  • Isaiah 48:21

    And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

  • Isaiah 48:22

    There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

Read all of Isaiah 48

Isaiah 48:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y no tuvieron sed cuando los llevó por los desiertos; hízoles correr agua de la piedra; cortó la peña, y corrieron aguas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils n’ont pas eu soif, quand il les fit marcher dans les déserts; du rocher il a fait jaillir pour eux les eaux; il a fendu le rocher, et les eaux ont coulé.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie dürsteten nicht, als er sie durch die Wüste führte; er ließ ihnen Wasser rieseln aus dem Felsen, er spaltete den Felsen, und Wasser flossen heraus. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non sitierunt in deserto, cum educeret eos: aquam de petra produxit eis, et scidit petram, et fluxerunt aquæ.