Isaiah 19:10

And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

They shall be broken in the purposes thereof - i:e., of Egypt (the Hebrew suffix is feminine). Hebrew, shaatoteyhaa (H8356), from shiyt (H7896), 'a foundation'-literally, the foundations; i:e., 'the nobles shall be broken' or brought low. So Isaiah 3:1; Psalms 11:3: cf. Isaiah 19:13, "The princes ... the stay of the tribes." The Arabs call a prince 'a pillar of the people' (Maurer). 'Their weaving-frames' (Horsley). 'Dykes' (Barnes).

All that make sluices ... - `makers of dams,' made to confine the waters which overflow from the Nile in artificial fish-ponds [ seker (H7938), akin to caakar, to enclose] (Horsley). 'Makers of gain' [from saakar (H7936), to gain] - the usual sense of the Hebrew; i:e., the common people, who have to earn their livelihood, as opposed to the 'nobles' previously (Maurer). I agree with the last interpretation.

(And) ponds for fish Hebrew agmee naphesh ponds for the life; ie ponds for living fish (cf margin; also (And) ponds for fish - Hebrew, agmee naphesh, ponds for the life; i:e., ponds for living fish (cf. margin; also Genesis 1:20) (Vatablus). Or else, ponds of the soul - i:e., of the desire; pleasure ponds for fish. Maurer takes the Hebrew [ 'agmeey (H99), as if it were the same as `aagªmaah (H5701), Job 30:25 ], 'The makers of gain (the common people) shall be sad in soul.' The parallelism is thus good. The Septuagint and Arabic also translate, 'shall be afflicted [ponesousi] in their souls.' But the Chaldaic Targum and Vulgate favour the English version; and Maurer's view strains the Hebrew word into the sense of the term in the Chaldaic, out of the ordinary Hebrew sense, which is that of the English version.