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Friday, August 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Isaiah 19:8

Those who fish in the Nile will be discouraged and mourn.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Egypt;   Fish;   Net;   Nile;   War;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Brooks;   Egypt;   Nile, the River;   Rivers;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Fish, Fisher;   Nets;   Nile;   Tirhakah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Fish;   Nile;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Hook;   Net;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Brook;   Fish;   Nile;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Dragnet;   Fishhook;   Hook;   Net;   Occupations and Professions in the Bible;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Angle;   Brook;   Hook;   Isaiah, Book of;   Nets;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Angle;   Brook;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Egypt;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Fish;   Hook, Hooks;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Angle;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Angle;   Fisher;   Fishhook;   Hook;   River;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Angling;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Fish and Fishing;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the fishermen will mourn.All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,and those who spread nets on the water will give up.
Hebrew Names Version
The fishermen shall lament, and all those who cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters shall languish.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.
New American Standard Bible
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.
New Century Version
The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile, will groan and cry; those who fish in the Nile will be sad.
Amplified Bible
The fishermen will lament (cry out in grief), And all those who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish.
World English Bible
The fishermen shall lament, and all those who cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters shall languish.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The fishers also shall mourne, and all they that cast angle into the riuer, shall lament, and they that spread their nette vpon the waters, shall be weakened.
Legacy Standard Bible
And the fishermen will lament,And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn,And those who spread nets on the waters will languish.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the fishermen will mourn, all who cast hooks into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will grieve.
Complete Jewish Bible
Fishermen too will lament, all who cast hooks in the Nile will mourn, those who spread nets on the water lose heart.
Darby Translation
And the fishers shall mourn, and all they that cast fish-hook into the Nile shall lament, and they that spread net upon the waters shall languish.
Easy-to-Read Version
The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile River, will become sad and they will cry. They depend on the Nile River for their food, but it will be dry.
George Lamsa Translation
The fishermen also shall lament, and all who cast hooks into the river shall mourn, and those who spread nets upon the water shall languish.
Good News Translation
Everyone who earns a living by fishing in the Nile will groan and cry; their hooks and their nets will be useless.
Lexham English Bible
And the fishers will mourn, and all of those who cast fishhooks in the Nile will lament, and those who spread out fishing nets on the surface of the water will languish.
Literal Translation
The fishermen shall mourn; and all who cast a hook into the Nile shall wail; and those who spread nets on the surface of the waters shall droop.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The fyshers shall mourne, all soch as cast angles in the water, shal complayne, & they that sprede their nettes in the water, shalbe faynt harted.
American Standard Version
And the fishers shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Bible in Basic English
The fishermen will be sad, and all those who put fishing-lines into the Nile will be full of grief, and those whose nets are stretched out on the waters will have sorrow in their hearts.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The fishers also shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
King James Version (1611)
The fishers also shall mourne, and all they that cast angle into the brookes shall lament, and they that spread nets vpon the waters shall languish.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The fisshers also shall mourne, and all they that cast angle into the water shall make lamentation: and they that lay foorth their net beside the waters shalbe rooted out.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the fishermen shall groan, and all that cast a hook into the river shall groan; they also that cast nets, and the anglers shall mourn.
English Revised Version
The fishers also shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And fischeris schulen morne, and alle that casten hook in to the flood, schulen weile; and thei that spreden abrood a net on the face of watris, schulen fade.
Update Bible Version
And the fishers shall lament, and all those that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and those that spread nets on the waters shall languish.
Webster's Bible Translation
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.
New English Translation
The fishermen will mourn and lament, all those who cast a fishhook into the river, and those who spread out a net on the water's surface will grieve.
New King James Version
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.
New Living Translation
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.
New Life Bible
The fishermen will cry in sorrow. All those who fish for a living in the Nile River will be filled with sorrow. And those who put out nets on its waters will become weak.
New Revised Standard
Those who fish will mourn; all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will languish.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall the fishers, lament, And all shall mourn who cast in the Nile a hook, - And they who spread nets on the face of the waters shall languish;
Douay-Rheims Bible
The fishers also shall mourn, and all that cast a hook into the river shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish away.
Revised Standard Version
The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets upon the water.
Young's Literal Translation
And lamented have the fishers, And mourned have all casting angle into a brook, And those spreading nets on the face of the waters have languished.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And the fishermen will lament, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.

Contextual Overview

1 This is a message about Egypt: The Lord comes to Egypt, riding swiftly on a cloud. The people are weak from fear. Their idols tremble as he approaches and says, 2 "I will punish Egypt with civil war— neighbors, cities, and kingdoms will fight each other. 3 "Egypt will be discouraged when I confuse their plans. They will try to get advice from their idols, from the spirits of the dead, and from fortunetellers. 4 I will put the Egyptians under the power of a cruel, heartless king. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have promised this." 5 The Nile River will dry up and become parched land. 6 Its streams will stink, Egypt will have no water, and the reeds and tall grass will dry up. 7 Fields along the Nile will be completely barren; every plant will disappear. 8 Those who fish in the Nile will be discouraged and mourn. 9 None of the cloth makers will know what to do, and they will turn pale. 10 Weavers will be confused; paid workers will cry and mourn.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Exodus 7:21, Numbers 11:5, Ezekiel 47:10, Habakkuk 1:15

Cross-References

Genesis 18:5
Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave. I would be honored to serve you." "Thank you very much," they answered. "We accept your offer."
Genesis 19:31
One day his older daughter said to her sister, "Our father is old, and there are no men anywhere for us to marry.
Genesis 19:38
The younger daughter named her son Benammi, and he is the ancestor of the Ammonites.
Genesis 42:37
Reuben spoke up, "Father, if I don't bring Benjamin back, you can kill both of my sons. Trust me with him, and I will bring him back."
Exodus 32:22
Aaron answered: Don't be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil.
Judges 9:15
The thornbush replied, "If you really want me to be your king, then come into my shade and I will protect you. But if you're deceiving me, I'll start a fire that will spread out and destroy the cedars of Lebanon." After Jotham had finished telling this story, he said:
Judges 19:24
Let me send out my daughter instead. She's a virgin. And I'll even send out the man's wife. You can rape them or do whatever else you want, but please don't do such a horrible thing to this man."
Isaiah 58:7
Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless. Give clothes to those in need; don't turn away your relatives.
Mark 9:6
But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about.
Romans 3:8
You might as well say, "Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!" Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The fishers also shall mourn,.... Because there will be no fish to catch, the waters of the river being dried up, and so will have none to sell, and nothing to support themselves and families with; and this must also affect the people in general, fish being the common food they lived upon, see Numbers 11:5, not only because of the great plenty there usually was, but because they killed and ate but very few living creatures, through a superstitious regard unto them; though Herodotus says h the Egyptian priests might not taste of fishes, yet the common people might; for, according to that historian i, when the river Nile flowed out of the lake of Moeris, a talent of silver every day was brought into the king's treasury, arising from the profit of fish; and when it flowed in, twenty pounds; nay, he expressly says k, that some of them live upon fish only, gutted, and dried with the sun:

and all they that cast angle, or hook,

into the brooks shall lament; which describes one sort of fishermen, and way of catching fishes, with the angle and hook, as the following clause describes another sort:

and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish; be dispirited and enfeebled for want of trade and subsistence, and with grief and horror.

h Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 37. i Ibid. c. 149. k Ibid. c. 92.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The fishers also - In this verse, and the two following, the prophet describes the calamities that would come upon various classes of the inhabitants, as the consequence of the failing of the waters of the Nile. The first class which he mentions are the fishermen. Egypt is mentioned Numbers 11:5, as producing great quantities of fish. ‘We remember the fish which we did eat in Eypt freely.’ ‘The Nile,’ says Diodorus (i.), ‘abounds with incredible numbers of all sorts of fish.’ The same was true of the artificial canals, and lakes, and reservoirs of water Isaiah 19:10. Herodotus (ii. 93) says that large quantities of fish were produced in the Nile: ‘At the season of spawning,’ says he, ‘they move in vast multitudes toward the sea. As soon as that season is over they leave the sea, return up the river, and endeavor to regain their accustomed haunts.’ As a specimen of his “credulity,” however, and also of the attention which he bestowed on natural history, the reader may consult the passage here referred to in regard to the mode of their propagation.

He also says that it is observed of the fish that are taken in their passage to the sea, that they have ‘the left part of their heads depressed.’ Of those that are taken on their return, the “right” side of the head is found to be depressed. This he accounts for by observing, that ‘the cause of this is obvious: as they pass to the sea they rub themselves on the banks on the left side; as they return they keep closely to the same bank, and, in both instances, press against it, that they may not be obliged to deviate from their course by the current of the stream.’ Speaking of the Lake Moeris, Herodotus says, that ‘for six months the lake empties itself into the Nile, and the remaining six, the Nile supplies the lake. During the six months in which the waters ebb, the fishing which is here carried on furnishes the royal treasury with a talent of silver (about 180) every day’ (ii. 149). ‘The silver which the fishery of this lake produced, was appropriated to find the queen with clothes and perfumes.’ (Diod. i. 52.) The Lake Moeris is now farmed for 30 purses (about 193) annually.

Michaud says that the Lake Menzaleh now yields an annual revenue of 800 purses,’ about 5364. ‘The great abundance of fish produced in the Nile was an invaluable provision of nature, in a country which had neither extended pasture grounds, nor large herds of cattle, and where grain was the principal production. When the Nile inundated the country, and filled the lakes and canals with its overflowing waters, these precious gifts were extended to the most remote villages in the interior of the valley, and the plentiful supply of fish which they obtained was an additional benefit conferred upon them at this season of the year.’ (Wilkinson’s “Ancient Egyptians,” vol. iii. pp. 62, 63.) Hence, the greatness of the calamity here referred to by the prophet when the lakes and canals should be dried up. The whole country would feel it.

And all they that cast angle - Two kinds of fishermen are mentioned - those who used a hook, and those who used the net. The former would fish mainly in the “brooks” or canals that were cut from the Nile to water their lands. For the various methods of fishing, illustrated by drawings, the reader may consult Wilklnson’s “Ancient Egyptians,” vol. ii. p. 21; vol. iii. p. 53ff.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 19:8. The fishers also - "And the fishers"] There was great plenty of fish in Egypt; see Numbers 11:5. "The Nile," says Diodorus, lib. i., "abounds with incredible numbers of all sorts of fish." And much more the lakes. So Egmont, Pococke, &c.


 
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