Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:17
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks, addressing the poor and needy among Israel, bracketed by the promise to scatter their enemies (v. 16) and to open water sources (v. 18).
The words — נָשָ֑תָּה (nāšāh), "it is dry," describes the tongue in a state of complete desiccation; the body is reduced to a single organ failing.
The thread — The same promise of water for the thirsty recurs in Isaiah 44:3 and 55:1, and the immediate context (Isaiah 41:18) shows the fulfillment: rivers on barren heights, fountains in valleys.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to take seriously that God's first concern here is the bodily, physical need of the most vulnerable, not their theological performance.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 55:1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
- Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Isaiah 30:19 O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
- Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- Psalms 34:6 This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Psalms 72:12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Genesis 28:15 Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
- Psalms 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”