The Meaning of Isaiah 42:15 Explained

Isaiah 42:15

KJV: I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

YLT: I make waste mountains and hills, And all their herbs I dry up, And I have made rivers become isles, And ponds I dry up.

Darby: I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

ASV: I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I will make waste  mountains  and hills,  and dry up  all their herbs;  and I will make  the rivers  islands,  and I will dry up  the pools. 

What does Isaiah 42:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Nothing in all creation would be able to resist and prevent the Lord from acting. His coming to judge sin and sinners would be as devastating to them as the searing east wind was to Palestinians.

Context Summary

Isaiah 42:14-25 - A Deaf And Blind Messenger
There are times in our lives when God seems to hold His peace. Evil is rife, bad men prosper, society lies under the spell of vice. It is only temporary, however. Then God comes forth out of the silence, and shows Himself "strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." He brings the blind "by a way that they knew not," and makes "the crooked places straight."
These wonderful things are wrought not for the wise and holy alone, but for the blind and the deaf, who nevertheless desire to serve Him. See Isaiah 42:19. God's help is not conditioned by our merit, but by our faith. In the eyes of men we may be the least fit to claim divine succor. But our deficiencies and failures constitute our most eloquent claim-God knew what we were, before He ever stooped to identify Himself with us. He is pleased to help us "for His righteousness' sake." His name and character must be maintained. Therefore He has magnified the law and made it honorable by the matchless obedience and death of His only begotten Son. See Galatians 4:4-5. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 42

1  The office of Christ, graced with meekness and constancy
5  God's promise unto him
10  An exhortation to praise God for his Gospel
13  God will manifest himself, and check idolatry
18  He reproves the people of incredulity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 42:15 mean?

I will lay waste the mountains and hills and all their vegetation dry up and I will make the rivers coastlands and the pools I will dry up
אַחֲרִ֤יב הָרִים֙ וּגְבָע֔וֹת וְכָל־ עֶשְׂבָּ֖ם אוֹבִ֑ישׁ וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י נְהָרוֹת֙ לָֽאִיִּ֔ים וַאֲגַמִּ֖ים אוֹבִֽישׁ

אַחֲרִ֤יב  I  will  lay  waste 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: חָרֵב 
Sense: to be waste, lay waste, make desolate, be desolate, be in ruins.
הָרִים֙  the  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
וּגְבָע֔וֹת  and  hills 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural
Root: גִּבְעָה  
Sense: hill.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
עֶשְׂבָּ֖ם  their  vegetation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עֵשֶׂב  
Sense: herb, herbage, grass, green plants.
אוֹבִ֑ישׁ  dry  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י  and  I  will  make 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
נְהָרוֹת֙  the  rivers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
לָֽאִיִּ֔ים  coastlands 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִי  
Sense: coast, island, shore, region.
וַאֲגַמִּ֖ים  and  the  pools 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֲגַם 
Sense: pool, troubled pool.
אוֹבִֽישׁ  I  will  dry  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.