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Selected Verse: Isaiah 37:25 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 37:25	Strong Concordance	I have digged [06979], and drunk [08354] water [04325]; and with the sole [03709] of my feet [06471] have I dried up [02717] all the rivers [02975] of the besieged places [04693].
	King James	I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
digged, and drunk water--In Kg2 19:24, it is "strange waters." I have marched into foreign lands where I had to dig wells for the supply of my armies; even the natural destitution of water there did not impede my march. rivers of . . . besieged places--rather, "the streams (artificial canals from the Nile) of Egypt." "With the sole of my foot," expresses that as soon as his vast armies marched into a region, the streams were drunk up by them; or rather, that the rivers proved no obstruction to the onward march of his armies. So Isa 19:4-6, referring to Egypt, "the river--brooks of defense--shall be dried up." HORSLEY, translates the Hebrew for "besieged places," "rocks."

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

digged, and drunk water--In Kg2 19:24, it is "strange waters." I have marched into foreign lands where I had to dig wells for the supply of my armies; even the natural destitution of water there did not impede my march.

rivers of . . . besieged places--rather, "the streams (artificial canals from the Nile) of Egypt." "With the sole of my foot," expresses that as soon as his vast armies marched into a region, the streams were drunk up by them; or rather, that the rivers proved no obstruction to the onward march of his armies. So Isa 19:4-6, referring to Egypt, "the river--brooks of defense--shall be dried up." HORSLEY, translates the Hebrew for "besieged places," "rocks."

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
I have digged - That is, I have digged wells. This was regarded among eastern nations as an important achievement. It was difficult to find water, even by digging, in sandy deserts; and in a country abounding with rocks, it was an enterprise of great difficulty to sink a well. Hence, the possession of a well became a valuable property, and was sometimes the occasion of contention between neighboring tribes Gen 26:20. Hence, also to stop up the wells of water, by throwing in rocks or sand, became one of the most obvious ways of distressing an enemy, and was often resorted to Gen 26:15, Gen 26:18; Kg2 3:19, Kg2 3:25. To dig wells, or to furnish water in abundance to a people, became also an achievement which was deemed worthy to be recorded in the history of kings and princes Ch2 26:10. Many of the most stupendous and costly of the works of the Romans in the capital of their empire, and in the principal towns of their provinces, consisted in building aqueducts to bring water from a distance into a city. An achievement like this I understand Sennacherib as boasting he had performed; that he had furnished water for the cities and towns of his mighty empire; that he had accomplished what was deemed so difficult, and what required so much expense, as digging wells for his people; and that he had secured them from being stopped up by his enemies, so that he and his people drank of the water in peace. Gesenius, however, understands this as a boast that he had extended the bounds of his empire beyond its original limits, and unto regions that were naturally destitute of water, and where it was necessary to dig wells to supply his armies. Rosenmuller understands it as saying: 'I have passed over, and taken possession of foreign lands.' Drusius regards it as a proverbial saying, meaning 'I have happily and successfully accomplished all that I have undertaken, as he who digs a well accomplishes that which he particularly desires.' Vitringa regards it as saying, 'that to dig wells, and to drink the water of them, is to enjoy the fruit of our labors, to be successful and happy.' But it seems to me that the interpretation above suggested, and which I have not found in any of the commentators before me, is the correct exposition. And drunk water - In Kg2 19:24, it is, 'I have drunk strange waters;' that is, the waters of foreign lands. I have conquered them, and have dug wells in them. But the sense is not materially changed. And with the sole of my feet - Expressions like this, denoting the desolations of a conqueror, are found in the classic writers. Perhaps the idea there is, that their armies were so numerous that they drank up all the waters in their march - a strong hyperbole to denote the number of their armies, and the extent of their desolations when even the waters failed before them. Thus Claudian (De Bello Getico, 526) introduces Alaric as boasting of his conquests in the same extravagant manner, and in language remarkably similar to this: Cum cesserit omnis Obsequiis natura meis. Subsidere nostris Sub pedibus montes; arescere vidimus amnes - Fregi Alpes, galeisque Padum victricibus hausi. So Juvenal (Sat. 10:176), speaking of the dominion of Xerxes, says: - credimus altos Defecisse amnes, epotaque ilumina Medo Prandente. The boast of drying up streams with the sole of the foot, is intended to convey the idea that he had not only supplied water for his own empire by digging wells, but that he had cut off the supplies of water from the others against whom he had made war. The idea perhaps is, that if such an army as his was, should pass through the streams of a country that they should invade, and should only take away the water that would adhere to the sole or the hollow of the foot on their march, it would dry up all the streams. It is strong hyperbolical language, and is designed to indicate the number of the forces which were under his command. Of the besieged places - Margin, 'Fenced' or 'closed'. The word rendered 'rivers' (אורי 'rēy), may denote canals, or artificial streams, such as were common in Egypt. In Isa 19:6, it is rendered 'brooks,' and is applied to the artificial canals of Egypt (see the note on that place). The word rendered here 'besieged places' (מצור mâtsôr), may mean distress, straitness Deu 28:53; siege Eze 4:2, Eze 4:7; mound, bulwark, intrenchment Deu 20:20; or it may be a proper name for Egypt, being one of the forms of the name מצרים mitserayim or Egypt. The same phrase occurs in Isa 19:6, where it means Egypt (see the note on that place), and such should be regarded as its meaning here. It alludes to the conquests which Sennacherib is represented as boasting that he had made in Egypt, that he had easily removed obstructions, and destroyed their means of defense. Though he had been repulsed before Pelusium by Tirhakah king of Ethiopia (see the note at Isa 36:1), yet it is not improbable that he had taken many towns there, and had subdued no small part of the country to himself. In his vain boasting, he would strive to forget his repulse, and would dwell on the case of conquest, and the facility with which he had removed all obstructions from his way. The whole language of the verse therefore, is that of a proud and haughty Oriental prince, desirous of proclaiming his conquests, and forgetting his mortifying defeats.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

I have digged - That is, I have digged wells. This was regarded among eastern nations as an important achievement. It was difficult to find water, even by digging, in sandy deserts; and in a country abounding with rocks, it was an enterprise of great difficulty to sink a well. Hence, the possession of a well became a valuable property, and was sometimes the occasion of contention between neighboring tribes Gen 26:20. Hence, also to stop up the wells of water, by throwing in rocks or sand, became one of the most obvious ways of distressing an enemy, and was often resorted to Gen 26:15, Gen 26:18; Kg2 3:19, Kg2 3:25. To dig wells, or to furnish water in abundance to a people, became also an achievement which was deemed worthy to be recorded in the history of kings and princes Ch2 26:10. Many of the most stupendous and costly of the works of the Romans in the capital of their empire, and in the principal towns of their provinces, consisted in building aqueducts to bring water from a distance into a city.

An achievement like this I understand Sennacherib as boasting he had performed; that he had furnished water for the cities and towns of his mighty empire; that he had accomplished what was deemed so difficult, and what required so much expense, as digging wells for his people; and that he had secured them from being stopped up by his enemies, so that he and his people drank of the water in peace. Gesenius, however, understands this as a boast that he had extended the bounds of his empire beyond its original limits, and unto regions that were naturally destitute of water, and where it was necessary to dig wells to supply his armies. Rosenmuller understands it as saying: 'I have passed over, and taken possession of foreign lands.' Drusius regards it as a proverbial saying, meaning 'I have happily and successfully accomplished all that I have undertaken, as he who digs a well accomplishes that which he particularly desires.' Vitringa regards it as saying, 'that to dig wells, and to drink the water of them, is to enjoy the fruit of our labors, to be successful and happy.' But it seems to me that the interpretation above suggested, and which I have not found in any of the commentators before me, is the correct exposition.

And drunk water - In Kg2 19:24, it is, 'I have drunk strange waters;' that is, the waters of foreign lands. I have conquered them, and have dug wells in them. But the sense is not materially changed.

And with the sole of my feet - Expressions like this, denoting the desolations of a conqueror, are found in the classic writers. Perhaps the idea there is, that their armies were so numerous that they drank up all the waters in their march - a strong hyperbole to denote the number of their armies, and the extent of their desolations when even the waters failed before them. Thus Claudian (De Bello Getico, 526) introduces Alaric as boasting of his conquests in the same extravagant manner, and in language remarkably similar to this:

Cum cesserit omnis

Obsequiis natura meis. Subsidere nostris

Sub pedibus montes; arescere vidimus amnes -

Fregi Alpes, galeisque Padum victricibus hausi.

So Juvenal (Sat. 10:176), speaking of the dominion of Xerxes, says:

- credimus altos

Defecisse amnes, epotaque ilumina Medo

Prandente.

The boast of drying up streams with the sole of the foot, is intended to convey the idea that he had not only supplied water for his own empire by digging wells, but that he had cut off the supplies of water from the others against whom he had made war. The idea perhaps is, that if such an army as his was, should pass through the streams of a country that they should invade, and should only take away the water that would adhere to the sole or the hollow of the foot on their march, it would dry up all the streams. It is strong hyperbolical language, and is designed to indicate the number of the forces which were under his command.

Of the besieged places - Margin, 'Fenced' or 'closed'. The word rendered 'rivers' (אורי 'rēy), may denote canals, or artificial streams, such as were common in Egypt. In Isa 19:6, it is rendered 'brooks,' and is applied to the artificial canals of Egypt (see the note on that place). The word rendered here 'besieged places' (מצור mâtsôr), may mean distress, straitness Deu 28:53; siege Eze 4:2, Eze 4:7; mound, bulwark, intrenchment Deu 20:20; or it may be a proper name for Egypt, being one of the forms of the name מצרים mitserayim or Egypt. The same phrase occurs in Isa 19:6, where it means Egypt (see the note on that place), and such should be regarded as its meaning here. It alludes to the conquests which Sennacherib is represented as boasting that he had made in Egypt, that he had easily removed obstructions, and destroyed their means of defense. Though he had been repulsed before Pelusium by Tirhakah king of Ethiopia (see the note at Isa 36:1), yet it is not improbable that he had taken many towns there, and had subdued no small part of the country to himself. In his vain boasting, he would strive to forget his repulse, and would dwell on the case of conquest, and the facility with which he had removed all obstructions from his way. The whole language of the verse therefore, is that of a proud and haughty Oriental prince, desirous of proclaiming his conquests, and forgetting his mortifying defeats.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Third turn, "I, I have digged and drunk (K. foreign) waters, and will make dry with the sole of my feet all the Nile-arms (יארי, K. יאורי) of Matsor." If we take עליתי in Isa 37:24 as a perfect of certainty, Isa 37:25 would refer to the overcoming of the difficulties connected with the barren sandy steppe on the way to Egypt (viz., et-Tih); but the perfects stand out against the following futures, as statements of what was actually past. Thus, in places where there were no waters at all, and it might have been supposed that his army would inevitably perish, there he had dug them (qūr, from which mâqōr is derived, fodere; not scaturire, as Luzzatto supposes), and had drunk up these waters, which had been called up, as if by magic, upon foreign soil; and in places where there were waters, as in Egypt (mâtsōr is used in Isaiah and Micah for mitsrayim, with a play upon the appellative meaning of the word: an enclosing fence, a fortifying girdle: see Psa 31:22), the Nile-arms and canals of which appeared to bar all farther progress, it was an easy thing for him to set at nought all these opposing hindrances. The Nile, with its many arms, was nothing but a puddle to him, which he trampled out with his feet.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Water "Strange waters" - The word זרים zarim, strange, lost out of the Hebrew text in this place, is supplied from the other copy. A MS. supplies the word רבים rabbim, many, instead of it. With the sole of my feet - With my infantry. All the rivers of the besieged places "All the canals of fenced places" - The principal cities of Egypt, the scene of his late exploits, were chiefly defended by deep moats, canals, or large lakes, made by labor and art, with which they were surrounded. See Harmer's Observ. 2 p. 304. Claudian introduces Alaric boasting of his conquests in the same extravagant manner: - "Subsidere nostris Sub pedibus montes; arescere vidimus amnes. - Fregi Alpes, galeisque Padum victricibus hausi." De Bello Getic. 526. "The mountains have passed away under our feet; we have seen the rivers dried up. I have broken the Alps, and laden out the Po with our victorious helmets."

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⁴ And [0853] the Egyptians [04714] will I give over [05534] into the hand [03027] of a cruel [07186] lord [0113]; and a fierce [05794] king [04428] shall rule [04910] over them, saith [05002] the Lord [0113], the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635].
⁵ And the waters [04325] shall fail [05405] from the sea [03220], and the river [05104] shall be wasted [02717] and dried up [03001].
⁶ And they shall turn [02186] the rivers [05104] far away [02186]; and the brooks [02975] of defence [04693] shall be emptied [01809] and dried up [02717]: the reeds [07070] and flags [05488] shall wither [07060].

²⁴ I have digged [06979] and drunk [08354] strange [02114] waters [04325], and with the sole [03709] of my feet [06471] have I dried [02717] up all the rivers [02975] of besieged places [04693].

¹ Now it came to pass in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396], that Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] came up [05927] against all the defenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.

⁶ And they shall turn [02186] the rivers [05104] far away [02186]; and the brooks [02975] of defence [04693] shall be emptied [01809] and dried up [02717]: the reeds [07070] and flags [05488] shall wither [07060].

²⁰ Only the trees [06086] which thou knowest [03045] that they be not trees [06086] for meat [03978], thou shalt destroy [07843] and cut them down [03772]; and thou shalt build [01129] bulwarks [04692] against the city [05892] that maketh [06213] war [04421] with thee, until it be subdued [03381].

⁷ Therefore thou shalt set [03559] thy face [06440] toward the siege [04692] of Jerusalem [03389], and thine arm [02220] shall be uncovered [02834], and thou shalt prophesy [05012] against it.

² And lay [05414] siege [04692] against it, and build [01129] a fort [01785] against it, and cast [08210] a mount [05550] against it; set [05414] the camp [04264] also against it, and set [07760] battering rams [03733] against it round about [05439].

⁵³ And thou shalt eat [0398] the fruit [06529] of thine own body [0990], the flesh [01320] of thy sons [01121] and of thy daughters [01323], which the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] hath given [05414] thee, in the siege [04692], and in the straitness [04689], wherewith thine enemies [0341] shall distress [06693] thee:

²⁴ I have digged [06979] and drunk [08354] strange [02114] waters [04325], and with the sole [03709] of my feet [06471] have I dried [02717] up all the rivers [02975] of besieged places [04693].

¹⁰ Also he built [01129] towers [04026] in the desert [04057], and digged [02672] many [07227] wells [0953]: for he had much [07227] cattle [04735], both in the low country [08219], and in the plains [04334]: husbandmen [0406] also, and vine dressers [03755] in the mountains [02022], and in Carmel [03760]: for he loved [0157] husbandry [0127].

²⁵ And they beat down [02040] the cities [05892], and on every good [02896] piece [02513] of land cast [07993] every man [0376] his stone [068], and filled [04390] it; and they stopped [05640] all the wells [04599] of water [04325], and felled [05307] all the good [02896] trees [06086]: only in Kirharaseth [07025] left [07604] they the stones [068] thereof; howbeit the slingers [07051] went about [05437] it, and smote [05221] it.

¹⁹ And ye shall smite [05221] every fenced [04013] city [05892], and every choice [04004] city [05892], and shall fell [05307] every good [02896] tree [06086], and stop [05640] all wells [04599] of water [04325], and mar [03510] every good [02896] piece [02513] of land with stones [068].

¹⁸ And Isaac [03327] digged [02658] again [07725] the wells [0875] of water [04325], which they had digged [02658] in the days [03117] of Abraham [085] his father [01]; for the Philistines [06430] had stopped [05640] them after [0310] the death [04194] of Abraham [085]: and he called [07121] their names [08034] after the names [08034] by which [0834] his father [01] had called [07121] them.

¹⁵ For all the wells [0875] which his father's [01] servants [05650] had digged [02658] in the days [03117] of Abraham [085] his father [01], the Philistines [06430] had stopped [05640] them, and filled [04390] them with earth [06083].

²⁰ And the herdmen [07462] of Gerar [01642] did strive [07378] with Isaac's [03327] herdmen [07462], saying [0559], The water [04325] is ours: and he called [07121] the name [08034] of the well [0875] Esek [06230]; because they strove [06229] with him.

²² For I said [0559] in my haste [02648], I am cut off [01629] from before [05048] thine eyes [05869]: nevertheless [0403] thou heardest [08085] the voice [06963] of my supplications [08469] when I cried [07768] unto thee.

²⁵ I have digged [06979], and drunk [08354] water [04325]; and with the sole [03709] of my feet [06471] have I dried up [02717] all the rivers [02975] of the besieged places [04693].

²⁴ By [03027] thy servants [05650] hast thou reproached [02778] the Lord [0136], and hast said [0559], By the multitude [07230] of my chariots [07393] am I come up [05927] to the height [04791] of the mountains [02022], to the sides [03411] of Lebanon [03844]; and I will cut down [03772] the tall [06967] cedars [0730] thereof, and the choice [04005] fir trees [01265] thereof: and I will enter [0935] into the height [04791] of his border [07093], and the forest [03293] of his Carmel [03760].