Isaiah 19:7

The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

The paper reeds, [`aarowt] - or else grassy pastures; literally, places naked of wood [from `aarah (H6168), to make bare] and famed for rich herbage, on the banks of the Nile (Gesenius). Compare Genesis 13:10; Deuteronomy 11:10. Horsley translates, 'Nakedness upon the river;' descriptive of the appearance of a river when its bottom is bare and its banks stripped of verdure by long drought. So the Vulgate. The English version takes the Hebrew from a root [ `owr (H5785)], skin, the papyrus being composed of delicate membranes, which were used as paper. It has in its favour, that in mentioning "the reeds and flags," the papyrus would not be likely to be omitted. Also, the antithesis to "everything sown by the brooks" requires that here there should be something mentioned that grows without sowing, as is the paper reed.

The brooks - Hebrew, yeor; the river.

The mouth - rather, the source (Vulgate). 'Even close to the river's side vegetation shall be so withered as to be scattered in the shape of powder by the wind' (English version, "be driven away") (Horsley).