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.

ISAIAH 42:15KJV
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Isaiah 42:15 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 42:15 mean?

Isaiah 42:15 describes God’s power to completely transform the natural world, saying He will lay waste to mountains and hills, dry up all their plants, turn rivers into islands, and dry up pools. This verse uses dramatic language to show that nothing in creation can stand in the way of God’s purpose.

In this part of Isaiah, God is speaking through the prophet to people who are discouraged and in exile. The verse comes in a section where God is introducing His chosen servant and promising to bring justice and new hope. By describing such sweeping changes in nature, Isaiah is emphasizing that God’s authority is absolute—He can overturn even the most permanent and unchangeable things to fulfill His promises.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 42:15

  • The word “waste” (חָרַב, ḥārav) means to lay waste or devastate. It stresses the total destruction or emptiness God can bring, not just a minor change.
  • “Mountains” (הָרִים, harim) and “hills” (גְּבָעוֹת, geva‘ot) refer to the most solid and enduring parts of the landscape, highlighting that even the strongest things are under God’s control.
  • “Rivers” (נָהָר, nahar) and “pools” (אֲגַם, agam) are sources of life and fertility in the land. Drying them up shows God’s ability to remove what people depend on, if He chooses.
  • The word “islands” (אִי, ’i) can also mean dry land or coastlands. Here, it suggests that God can so thoroughly change a river that it becomes dry land, something entirely new.

Why Isaiah 42:15 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that anything in creation is too permanent or strong for God to change; even mountains and rivers are subject to His will.
  • Isaiah 42:15 highlights the seriousness of God’s coming actions, preparing the reader for the hope and renewal He promises in the following verses.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by showing that God’s servant will not just bring gentle comfort but also has the authority to reshape the world for His purposes.

Where else these words appear

“pools” Hebrew H98 · used in 9 verses

  • Exodus 7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
  • Psalms 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
  • Isaiah 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

“herbs” Hebrew H6212 · used in 32 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.
  • Exodus 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
  • Psalms 104:14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

“islands” Hebrew H339 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
  • Isaiah 41:5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
  • Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

“waste” Hebrew H2717 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
  • Isaiah 34:10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
  • Jeremiah 51:36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.