ישעיהו, פרק י״ט, פסוק ו׳

A devastating drought strikes the region, causing the total collapse of the nation's extensive water system. The devastation reaches from the mighty rivers down to the vegetation along their banks.

The primary approach among commentators is that the rivers will undergo a profound abandonment. The great rivers will be left entirely without their waters [מצודת דוד, רד״ק], or the mighty Nile will fail to fill the smaller canals it usually floods during high tide [מלבי״ם]. This abandonment is described as a complete distancing, almost as if the waters are leaving out of disgust [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, it is the people themselves who will abandon the dried-up riverbeds [אבן עזרא]. Another perspective suggests a foul outcome, where the tiny amount of remaining water will stagnate and produce a terrible stench [שד״ל]. Combining these ideas, the receding waters will expose the riverbed mud, which will turn into foul-smelling slime, ultimately causing the entire area to be abandoned by anyone who once went there [רש״י].

As the drying process continues, the water system weakens and shrinks, much like a sick and frail person [רש״י, אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם]. Other commentators view this as the physical removal and lifting away of the waters until absolute dryness sets in [מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. The primary approach among commentators is that this extreme drought will affect even the deep water canals—whether natural or man-made—that were dug around cities. These trenches were designed as defensive barriers and as emergency reservoirs for times of siege and war, ensuring survival when enemies might cut off the water supply [רש״י, אבן עזרא, מצודות, מלבי״ם]. Yet, even these deep, secure emergency reserves will completely dry up. Alternatively, these deep waters simply refer to the mighty rivers of Egypt itself [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The ecological disaster ultimately claims the plant life. The primary approach among commentators is that the water plants and grasses that normally thrive along the riverbanks will be entirely wiped out. Specific plants known for being exceptionally moist, such as papyrus, will perish, highlighting the sheer severity of the drought as not a single drop of moisture remains [מלבי״ם]. Without their water sources, these reeds will stop growing, dry out completely, and become so brittle that they simply break and fall apart on their own [רש״י, מצודות].