Bible Strands
Isaiah 11:15
The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers this oracle within a messianic reign sequence, positioned between judgments on neighboring nations and the promise of a restored highway for God's remnant.
The words — The text highlights לְשׁ֣וֹן (le.Shon, "tongue") of the Sea of Egypt and the verb וְ/הֵנִ֥יף (ve./he.Nif, "he will brandish/sweep") describing God's hand moving over the Euphrates.
The thread — This motif of dividing waters for passage appears in Zechariah 10:11 regarding the Nile and Revelation 16:12 regarding the Euphrates, while echoing the Exodus event referenced in Isaiah 11:16.
Why it lands — The text declares that God will remove geographical barriers to enable a safe crossing, demanding recognition that divine intervention, not human effort, secures the path for His people.
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
King James Version
And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 10:11 They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
- Revelation 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.
- Isaiah 50:2 Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
- Isaiah 7:20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.
- Isaiah 19:16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them.
- Isaiah 19:5 The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty.
- Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?
- Ezekiel 29:10 therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.
- Ezekiel 30:12 I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have spoken.
- Exodus 7:19 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”