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The waters of Nimrim are dried up, and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone, and the greenery is no more.
Isaiah 15:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate; for the grass has withered away, the tender grass fails, there is no green thing.
  • KJV For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
  • NKJV For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate, For the green grass has withered away; The grass fails, there is nothing green.
  • NASB For the waters of Nimrim are desolate. Indeed, the grass is withered, the new growth has died, There is no greenery.
  • NLT Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched. The tender plants are gone; nothing green remains.

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

The waters of Nimrim dry up and the grass withers, leaving nothing green. The land itself is desolated by the calamity.

Overview

The drying of springs and failure of vegetation depict the thorough devastation of Moab's countryside. Loss of water and pasture meant ruin for an agrarian people. The barren landscape mirrors the spiritual barrenness of a nation under judgment apart from God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Joel 1:10–12The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.
  • Isa 19:5–7The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty.
  • Num 32:36Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and they built folds for their flocks.
  • Isa 16:9–10So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.
  • Num 32:3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
  • Rev 8:7Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass.
  • Hab 3:17–18Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,
  • Josh 13:27and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth).
  • Jer 48:34There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 15:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 15:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.