Isaiah 11:15-16
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The verse highlights a striking detail: God will strike the river into seven streams and lead people across "in sandals." This isn't just about dividing the water, but about reducing a formidable barrier into small, easily crossable rivulets, making the journey so simple that even ordinary footwear is sufficient.
And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels, and he will lead people across in sandals. And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage follows Isaiah's vision of a peaceful future under a new king from Jesse's line, and a prophecy of a miraculous return for God's scattered people. Building on the Exodus imagery of God making a way through impossible obstacles, Isaiah describes a divine intervention that will dry up the "tongue" of the Egyptian sea and cause the great river (likely the Nile or Euphrates) to split into seven streams, allowing safe passage for the returning exiles. This powerful, symbolic act underscores God's complete control and his ability to remove any barrier to His people's restoration and salvation.
How can a sea be utterly destroyed? How can a river be struck into seven streams? This passage isn't just describing geographical changes; it's painting a picture of God's absolute sovereignty over creation.
Isaiah 11:15 uses dramatic imagery, drawing from the Exodus, to show God's power to remove any obstacle.
Unmaking the Sea
The "tongue of the Egyptian sea" likely refers to the Gulf of Suez, a formidable barrier. To "utterly destroy" it means to make it completely passable, not just divided as in the Exodus. This signifies God's ability to erase obstacles entirely.
Reshaping the River
The "river" here could be the Nile or the Euphrates, both significant waterways. "Smite it into seven streams" suggests God can break down even mighty rivers, creating numerous, shallow channels where people can walk "dry-shod" (without getting their feet wet).
The Purpose: A Highway
These aren't just displays of power. They are acts of preparation. God is clearing a path, making a "highway" for His people to return and to find peace. It's a promise that no barrier, however natural or imposing, can stand against God's plan for His people.
Why does Isaiah describe these miraculous water-crossings in the context of a future return? What's the connection between escaping Egypt and returning from exile?
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This passage isn't just about a historical event; it's about a divine pattern. Isaiah is using the great deliverance of the Exodus as a template for a future, even greater, restoration.
Remembering the Past
The original audience would immediately connect this imagery to the Exodus from Egypt. God divided the Red Sea and later dried up the Jordan River for their ancestors. This established a precedent: when God redeems, He makes the impossible possible.
Anticipating the Future
Isaiah extends this pattern to the future return of the exiles from places like Egypt and Assyria. Just as God made a way for them to leave Egypt, He will make a way for them to return from their dispersion. The "highway" signifies a secure and effortless journey, mirroring the protected passage of the Israelites out of Egypt.
Beyond Literal Journeys
While literal journeys are depicted, the ultimate fulfillment points to spiritual redemption. God removes spiritual barriers and creates pathways for people to come to Him, whether they are returning from exile or seeking Him for the first time.
Understand the original words
charam · Hebrew Verb
To devote to destruction or dry up completely. Used of God, it signifies His absolute power to remove obstacles to His purposes.
ruach · Hebrew Noun
The life-giving or destructive power of God, often represented as wind or Spirit. Here it signifies God's divine energy or word that affects the natural world to clear a path for His people.
mesillah · Hebrew Noun
A raised road or raised way intended to facilitate safe and direct travel. In a prophetic context, it often symbolizes God’s intervention to make the way of return or restoration possible for His people, removing obstacles in their path.
she'ar · Hebrew Noun
A small part or portion that remains after a larger part has been removed or destroyed. Biblically, it refers to the faithful minority whom God preserves through judgment to carry forward the covenant promises.
Yisra'el · Hebrew Proper Noun
Those who belong to the covenant community established through the patriarch Jacob. It represents the people chosen by God to be a light to the nations and the recipients of His specific promises.
This prophecy's vivid imagery of drying up seas and rivers is deeply rooted in the memory of the Exodus. Isaiah uses these powerful metaphors to assure his audience that God will miraculously clear the way for His people's return from exile and for the future gathering of both Jews and Gentiles under the Messiah, just as He did for their ancestors escaping Egypt.
c. 1440 BC
Exodus from Egypt
God miraculously parts the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to escape slavery in Egypt. This event becomes a foundational miracle of liberation for the Jewish people.
c. 730 BC
Assyrian Conquest of Northern Israel
The Neo-Assyrian Empire begins its aggressive expansion, conquering the northern Kingdom of Israel and deporting many of its inhabitants. This marks the beginning of major foreign oppressions for the Israelites.
c. 701 BC
Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
King Sennacherib of Assyria invades Judah and besieges Jerusalem. While the city is not captured, the event instills fear and highlights Judah's vulnerability.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquers Judah, initiating a series of deportations of the Jewish elite to Babylon. This marks the prelude to the destruction of Jerusalem.
539 BC
Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon
Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, conquers the Babylonian Empire. He soon issues a decree allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands.
c. AD 50-60— this verse
Paul's Ministry in Ephesus and Rome
The Apostle Paul undertakes extensive missionary journeys, establishing Christian communities throughout the Roman Empire and spreading the gospel to Gentiles. This period sees the rapid expansion of the early church.
This passage directly parallels the imagery of God drying up waters with a wind to create a dry path for His people, echoing the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea during the Exodus.
Joshua 3:15-17This describes the Jordan River drying up before the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land, another instance of God making a way through impassable waters for His people.
Nehemiah 9:11This verse recounts God's power displayed at the Red Sea, highlighting His ability to divide waters and lead His people through, reinforcing the miraculous nature of the event described in Isaiah.
Zechariah 10:11This passage speaks of God smiting the sea and drying up its depths, leading His people through, which shares the theme of divine intervention creating a path for them.
wesleyIsaiah 11:15: "And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod."
11:15 Destroy - Shall not only divide it, as of old, but dry it up, that it may be an high - way. The sea - The Red Sea, which may well be called the Egyptian sea, both because it borders upon Egypt, and because the Egyptians were drowned in it, which is called a tongue in the He…
barnesIsaiah 11:15: "And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod."
And the Lord - The prophet goes on with the description of the effect which shall follow the return of the scattered Jews to God. The language is figurative, and is here drawn from that which was the great storehouse of all the imagery of the Jews - the deliverance of their fathe…
The verse highlights a striking detail: God will strike the river into seven streams and lead people across "in sandals." This isn't just about dividing the water, but about reducing a formidable barrier into small, easily crossable rivulets, making the journey so simple that even ordinary footwear is sufficient.
This passage follows Isaiah's vision of a peaceful future under a new king from Jesse's line, and a prophecy of a miraculous return for God's scattered people. Building on the Exodus imagery of God making a way through impossible obstacles, Isaiah describes a divine intervention that will dry up the "tongue" of the Egyptian sea and cause the great river (likely the Nile or Euphrates) to split into seven streams, allowing safe passage for the returning exiles. This powerful, symbolic act underscores God's complete control and his ability to remove any barrier to His people's restoration and salvation.
This passage follows Isaiah's vision of a peaceful future under a new king from Jesse's line, and a prophecy of a miraculous return for God's scattered people. Building on the Exodus imagery of God making a way through impossible obstacles, Isaiah describes a divine intervention that will dry up the "tongue" of the Egyptian sea and cause the great river (likely the Nile or Euphrates) to split into seven streams, allowing safe passage for the returning exiles. This powerful, symbolic act underscores God's complete control and his ability to remove any barrier to His people's restoration and salvation.
"And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels, and he will lead people across in sandals…" — The verse highlights a striking detail: God will strike the river into seven streams and lead people across "in sandals." This isn't just about dividing the water, but about reducing a formidable b…
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Last reviewed October 2026
