Isaiah 42:15

¹³ The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior. He shouts; yes, He roars in triumph over His enemies:

¹⁴ “I have kept silent from ages past; I have remained quiet and restrained. But now I will groan like a woman in labor; I will at once gasp and pant.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.

¹⁶ I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.

¹⁷ But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.
KJV: 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.
WEB: I will destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.
ASV: I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.
DARBY: I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
BLB: I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and all their vegetation I will dry up; and I will turn the rivers into islands, and the pools I will dry up.

ÅB: Jeg vil legge fjell og hauger øde og la alle deres urter tørke bort, og jeg vil gjøre elver til land og tørke ut sjøer.
OTB: Jeg vil legge fjell og hauger øde og visne all deres vegetasjon; jeg vil gjøre elver til kystland og tørke ut dammene.
B1930: Jeg vil legge fjell og hauger øde og la alle deres urter tørke bort, og jeg vil gjøre elver til land og tørke ut sjøer.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 50:2
Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
Read in context
Nahum 1:4–6
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.
Read in context
Isaiah 44:27
who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’
Read in context
Isaiah 2:12–16
For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted— it will be humbled—
Read in context
Revelation 20:11
Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
Read in context
Revelation 8:7–12
Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass.
Read in context
Zechariah 10:11
They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
Read in context
Revelation 6:12–17
And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
Read in context