And the fishermen will grieve, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
Parallel translations
- WEB The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish.
- KJV The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
- BSB Then the fishermen will mourn, all who cast a hook into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.
- NKJV The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
- NLT The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart.
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
Fishermen mourn because the waters that sustained their livelihood have failed. It matters because the judgment touches ordinary workers, not just kings and idols.
Overview
With the Nile dried up, those who fished its waters are left to lament their lost trade. The oracle widens to show that divine judgment affects every level of society, including common laborers. The mourning of the fishermen humanizes the catastrophe and underscores its breadth. It reminds readers that the consequences of a nation's spiritual condition are felt by all.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezek 47:10It shall happen, that fishermen shall stand by it: from En Gedi even to En Eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
- Hab 1:15He takes up all of them with the hook. He catches them in his net, and gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore he rejoices and is glad.
- Num 11:5We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;
- Exod 7:21The fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:8 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.