“Then I will make their waters settle, And make their rivers run like oil,” Declares the Lord God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, says the Lord Yahweh.
- KJV Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.
- BSB Then I will let her waters settle and will make her rivers flow like oil,’ declares the Lord GOD.
- NKJV Then I will make their waters clear, And make their rivers run like oil,” Says the Lord God.
- NLT Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again, and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil, says the Sovereign Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
With Egypt emptied, its rivers will run clear and smooth 'like oil,' undisturbed. The calm signals not peace but the stillness of a land laid waste.
Overview
The waters Pharaoh once 'fouled' (verse 2) now run clear because no one remains to trouble them. The tranquility is the quiet of desolation, not blessing. The reversal completes the picture: the chaos-monster's churning is replaced by an unnatural, lifeless calm under God's judging hand.
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The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
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Original language
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