For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

ISAIAH 15:6KJV
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Isaiah 15:6 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 15:6 mean?

Isaiah 15:6 describes a scene of total devastation, where the waters of Nimrim are dried up, and all plant life—hay, grass, and anything green—has withered away. The verse pictures a land stripped of its natural resources, emphasizing complete desolation.

The prophet Isaiah is speaking about Moab, a neighboring nation to Israel, warning them of coming judgment and ruin. This verse uses the drying up of water and vegetation as a vivid image of how Moab’s land and livelihood will be destroyed, leaving nothing to sustain life.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 15:6

  • "waters" (מַיִם, mayim, H4325): This word refers to the streams or pools that would have been crucial for life in a dry region. The drying up of these waters signals a disaster for both people and animals.
  • "Nimrim" (נִמְרִים, Nimrim, H5249): Nimrim is likely a specific place in Moab known for its water sources. Mentioning it by name makes the prophecy more concrete and personal for the original audience.
  • "desolate" (נָשַׁם, nasham, H4923): This word often means laid waste or emptied. It highlights that the destruction is not just partial but total—nothing is left.
  • "grass" (דֶּשֶׁא, deshe, H1877): This term points to the basic greenery that would feed animals and support life. Its absence underlines the severity of the drought or destruction.

Why Isaiah 15:6 matters

  • Isaiah 15:6 clarifies that the judgment on Moab is not just military defeat but includes environmental collapse, affecting every aspect of daily life.
  • The verse emphasizes the thoroughness of the coming disaster—nothing green or life-sustaining will remain, showing the seriousness of the warning.
  • By naming specific places and using vivid imagery, Isaiah connects the prophecy to real locations and people, making the warning more immediate and relatable to his audience.

Where else these words appear

“Nimrim” Hebrew H5249 · used in 2 verses

  • Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

“thing” Hebrew H3418 · used in 6 verses

  • Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
  • Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
  • Numbers 22:4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.

“desolate” Hebrew H4923 · used in 7 verses

  • Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.
  • Ezekiel 6:14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
  • Ezekiel 33:29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

“grass” Hebrew H1877 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • 2 Kings 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
  • Proverbs 27:25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.