2 Kings 19:24

I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Assyrian commander addresses Judah’s leadership, continuing his taunt against the Lord by claiming his campaigns have reached from Lebanon’s mountains to Egypt’s waterways.

The words — The Hebrew קַרְתִּי (kar.ti) means "I have dug," and זָרִים (za.rim) translates to "foreign" or "strange," emphasizing the conquest of distant territories.

The thread — This imagery of military conquest over water sources parallels the enemy’s boast in Exodus 15:9 and the threat to drag down fortified cities in 2 Samuel 17:13.

Why it lands — The text states the speaker’s claim of total environmental and territorial domination before any theological response is given. It demands recognition that human military boasting cannot override divine sovereignty, which God immediately addresses in 2 Kings 19:25.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

אֲנִ֣י'a.NiI קַ֔רְתִּיKar.tiI have dug וְשָׁתִ֖יתִיve./sha.Ti.tiand/ I have drunk מַ֣יִםMa.yimwater זָרִ֑יםza.Rimstrange וְאַחְרִב֙ve./'ach.Rivso/ I may dry up בְּכַף־be./khaf-with/ [the] sole of פְּעָמַ֔יpe.'a.Ma/ifeet/ my כֹּ֖לkolall יְאֹרֵ֥יye.'o.Rei[the] canals of מָצֽוֹר׃ma.TzorEgypt

King James Version

I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

Cross-references

Exodus 15:9 The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
2 Samuel 17:13 If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found there.”
1 Kings 20:10 Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
Isaiah 19:6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither.
Daniel 4:30 the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”