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For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
Isaiah 15:6 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB The waters of Nimrim are dried up, and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone, and the greenery is no more.
  • 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 wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
  • Isa 19:5–7And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
  • Num 32:36And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.
  • Isa 16:9–10Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
  • Num 32:3Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
  • Rev 8:7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
  • Hab 3:17–18Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
  • Josh 13:27And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.
  • Jer 48:34From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

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.