Isaiah 19:5

The waters shall fail from the sea; which may be understood either,

1. Metaphorically, of the taking away of their dominion or commerce, &c.; or rather,

2. Properly, as may be gathered from the following words and verses. For as the river Nilus, when it had a full stream, and free course, did pour forth a vast quantity of waters by its seven famous mouths into the sea; so when that was dried up, which is expressed in the next clause, those waters did truly and properly fail from the sea. So there is no need of understanding by sea either the river Nilus, or the great lake of Moeris, which, after the manner of the Hebrews, might be so called. The river, to wit, Nilus, upon whose fulness and overflow both the safety and the wealth of the land depended, as all authors agree; and therefore this was a very terrible judgment. Dried up, not totally, but in a very great measure, as such phrases are commonly used.