Isaiah 37:25
New International Version
I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.’

New Living Translation
I have dug wells in many foreign lands and refreshed myself with their water. With the sole of my foot, I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’

English Standard Version
I dug wells and drank waters, to dry up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt.

Berean Standard Bible
I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

King James Bible
I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

New King James Version
I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.’

New American Standard Bible
‘I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the canals of Egypt.’

NASB 1995
I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.’

NASB 1977
‘I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.’

Legacy Standard Bible
I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.’

Amplified Bible
‘I dug wells and drank [foreign] waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the canals [of the Nile] of Egypt.’

Christian Standard Bible
I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I dug wells and drank water. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.”

American Standard Version
I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.

Contemporary English Version
I dried up every stream in the land of Egypt, and I drank water from wells I had dug."

English Revised Version
I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I'll dig wells and drink water. I'll dry up all the streams of Egypt with the trampling of my feet."

Good News Translation
You boasted that you dug wells and drank water in foreign lands, and that the feet of your soldiers tramped the Nile River dry.

International Standard Version
I myself dug wells and drank foreign waters; with the soles of my feet I dried up all the streams of Egypt."

Majority Standard Bible
I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.?

NET Bible
I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.'

New Heart English Bible
I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt."

Webster's Bible Translation
I have digged, and drank water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

World English Bible
I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I have dug and drunk waters, "" And I dry up with the sole of my steps "" All floods of a bulwark.

Young's Literal Translation
I -- I have dug and drunk waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark.

Smith's Literal Translation
I dug and drank water; and I will dry up with the sole of my footstep all the rivers of Egypt,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I have digged, and drunk water, and have dried up with the sole of my foot, all the rivers shut up in banks.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I dug deep, and I drank water, and I dried up all the river banks with the sole of my foot.’

New American Bible
I myself dug wells and drank foreign water; Drying up all the rivers of Egypt beneath the soles of my feet.’

New Revised Standard Version
I dug wells and drank waters, I dried up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt.’
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I will dig, and drink water; and with the hoofs of my horses will I dry up all the great rivers.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
I shall dig and I shall drink water and I shall dry up with the hooves of my horses all the mighty rivers!’
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I have digged and drunk water, And with the sole of my feet have I dried up All the rivers of Egypt.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and I have made a bridge, and dried up the waters, and every pool of water.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Fall of Sennacherib Prophesied
24Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests. 25I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.” 26Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.…

Cross References
2 Kings 19:24
I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

Isaiah 36:20
Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

Isaiah 10:13-14
For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers. / My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”

Isaiah 14:13-14
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. / I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Ezekiel 31:4
The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.

Ezekiel 29:3
Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’

Jeremiah 50:38
A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.

Jeremiah 51:13
You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.

Nahum 1:4
He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

Habakkuk 1:11
Then they sweep by like the wind and pass through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.”

Daniel 4:30
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”

Revelation 17:1
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.

Revelation 17:15
Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

Revelation 18:7
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’

Revelation 18:17
For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance


Treasury of Scripture

I have dig, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

with the sole

Isaiah 36:12
But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

1 Kings 20:10
And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

2 Kings 19:23,24
By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel…

besieged.

Jump to Previous
Besieged Bulwark Digged Drank Dried Drunk Dry Dug Egypt Feet Floods Foot Foreign Lands Matsor Places Rivers Sole Soles Steps Streams Water Water-Holes Waters Wells
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Besieged Bulwark Digged Drank Dried Drunk Dry Dug Egypt Feet Floods Foot Foreign Lands Matsor Places Rivers Sole Soles Steps Streams Water Water-Holes Waters Wells
Isaiah 37
1. Hezekiah mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6. Isaiah comforts them
8. Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14. Hezekiah's prayer
21. Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
36. An angel slays the Assyrians
37. Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons.














I have dug wells
This phrase reflects the Assyrian king's boastful claim of self-sufficiency and conquest. In the ancient Near East, water was a precious resource, and the ability to dig wells symbolized control over life-sustaining resources. The Hebrew root for "dug" (חָפַר, chafar) implies an active effort to obtain what is needed, often through laborious means. Spiritually, this can be seen as a metaphor for human attempts to secure life and prosperity through one's own strength, contrasting with reliance on God.

and drunk foreign waters
Drinking "foreign waters" signifies the Assyrian king's expansion into territories not his own, consuming resources that belonged to others. Historically, this reflects the Assyrian empire's aggressive campaigns and dominance over neighboring nations. Theologically, it can be interpreted as a warning against the pride of overreaching and the illusion of invincibility, reminding believers that true sustenance comes from God alone.

With the soles of my feet
This phrase emphasizes the ease with which the Assyrian king claims to have achieved his conquests. The imagery of feet suggests a casual, almost dismissive, exertion of power. In biblical symbolism, feet often represent dominion and authority. Theologically, this can be seen as a critique of human arrogance, as it contrasts with the humility and servitude exemplified by Christ, who washed the feet of His disciples.

I have dried up all the streams of Egypt
The drying up of "streams of Egypt" is a hyperbolic expression of military prowess, as Egypt was known for its life-giving Nile River. Historically, this reflects the Assyrian king's ambition to conquer even the most fertile and powerful regions. Theologically, it serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty over nature and nations. In Scripture, God alone has the power to control the waters (as seen in the parting of the Red Sea), highlighting the futility of human pride and the ultimate authority of the Creator.

(25) I have digged, and drunk water . . .--This, again, was one of the common boasts of the Assyrian conquerors. It was Sennacherib's special glory, as recorded in his inscriptions, that he had provided cities with water which were before scantily supplied, that he had made wells even in the deserts (Records of the Past, i. 29, 31, 9:23).

All the rivers of the besieged places.--As the words stand, they suggest the thought that the Assyrian army could cut off the supply of water as well as provide it, and so connect themselves with the Rabshakeh's taunt in Isaiah 36:12. Their true meaning, however, is probably, as in Isaiah 19:6; Micah 7:12, "the rivers or canals of Egypt," a form being used for Egypt which also conveys the idea of "besieged fortresses." So taken, the words are a defiant threat against Tirhakah. Not all the branches of the Nile in the Delta should protect his cities. His armies would, as it were, dry them up.

Verse 25. - I have digged, and drunk water. Sennacherib notes three natural obstacles to his advance - the forces of his opponents he does not appear to account an obstacle - viz. mountains, deserts, rivers. Mountains do not stop him - he crosses them even with his chariot-force (ver. 24). Deserts do not stop him - he digs wells there, and drinks their waters. Rivers will not stop him - he will dry them up, trample them into puddles. Note the contrast between the past tenses, "I have come up," "I have digged," "I have drunk," and the future, "I will dry up." He had crossed the mountain ranges Sinjar, Amanus, Lebanon; he had passed waterless tracts, where he had had to dig wells, in Mesopotamia and Northern Syria. He was about to find his chief obstacle, rivers, when he invaded Lower Egypt. The rivers of the besieged places; rather, the rivers of Egypt. Mazor, the singular form (compare Assyrian Muzr, and modern Arabic Misr), is used here (as in Micah 7:12, and perhaps in Isaiah 19:6), instead of the ordinary dual term, Miz-raim, probably because Lower Egypt is especially intended. Sennacherib was looking especially to the invasion of Lower Egypt,where the Nile had "seven branches" (Herod., 2:17), and the country was also cut up by numerous canals, which would naturally constitute a great difficulty to a force depending mainly on its chariots. He believed, however, in his heart, that he would find a way of "drying up" these "rivers."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I
אֲנִ֥י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

have dug wells
קַ֖רְתִּי (qar·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6979: To trench, to throw forth, to wall up

and drunk foreign
וְשָׁתִ֣יתִי (wə·šā·ṯî·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

waters.
מָ֑יִם (mā·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

With the soles
בְּכַף־ (bə·ḵap̄-)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3709: Hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot), a pan

of my feet
פְּעָמַ֔י (pə·‘ā·may)
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6471: A beat, foot, anvil, occurrence

I have dried up
וְאַחְרִב֙ (wə·’aḥ·riḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2717: To parch, to desolate, destroy, kill

all
כֹּ֖ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the streams
יְאֹרֵ֥י (yə·’ō·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2975: Nile -- a channel, a fosse, canal, shaft, the Nile, the Tigris

of Egypt.”
מָצֽוֹר׃ (mā·ṣō·wr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4693: Egypt -- a country Southwest of the Red Sea


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 37:25 I have dug and drunk water (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 37:24
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