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What the Bible Says About Rivers

Overview

The Bible addresses rivers across 89 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Isaiah, Joshua and Psalms. Closely related themes include Water, War, Nile, the River and Sea, the. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Cush, Abraham, Sihon and Elisha.

Key Bible verses about rivers

Old Testament

Genesis

Genesis 2:10

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Genesis 2:11

The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

Genesis 2:13

And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Heb. Cush

Genesis 2:14

And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. toward: or, eastward to Assyria

Genesis 15:18

In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Genesis 32:22

And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

Joshua

Joshua 2:7

And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

Joshua 3:8

And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

Joshua 3:15

And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

Joshua 12:1

Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:

Joshua 12:2

Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

Joshua 16:8

The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.

Joshua 22:25

For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.

Psalms

Psalms 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. wither: Heb. fade

Psalms 46:4

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

Psalms 69:2

I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. deep mire: Heb. the mire of depth deep waters: Heb. depth of waters

Psalms 74:15

Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. mighty: Heb. rivers of strength

Psalms 104:8

They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. They go up: or, The mountains ascend, the valleys descend

Psalms 104:10

He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. He: Heb. Who run: Heb. walk

Psalms 137:1

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

Isaiah

Isaiah 8:7

Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

Isaiah 8:8

And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. stretching: Heb. fulness of the breadth of thy land shall be the stretchings out of his wings

Isaiah 11:5

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Isaiah 16:2

For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. cast: or, a nest forsaken

Isaiah 18:1

Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:

Isaiah 19:1

The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

Isaiah 19:2

And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. set: Heb. mingle

Isaiah 19:3

And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. fail: Heb. be emptied destroy: Heb. swallow up

Isaiah 19:4

And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts. give: or, shut up

Isaiah 19:5

And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

Isaiah 19:6

And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

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. and be: Heb. and shall not be

Isaiah 19:8

The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

Isaiah 23:3

And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

Isaiah 23:10

Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. strength: Heb. girdle

Isaiah 28:2

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

Isaiah 28:18

And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. trodden: Heb. a treading down to it

Isaiah 32:2

And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. great: Heb. heavy

Isaiah 32:20

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

Isaiah 33:21

But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. of: Heb. broad of spaces, or, hands

Isaiah 41:18

I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Isaiah 43:2

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:20

The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. owls: or, ostriches: Heb. daughters of the owl

Isaiah 50:2

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

Isaiah 66:12

For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 2:18

And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

Jeremiah 17:8

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. drought: or, restraint

Jeremiah 47:2

Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. all that: Heb. the fulness thereof

Jeremiah 49:19

Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? appoint me: or, convent me in judgment?

Jeremiah 51:36

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1:1

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. captives: Heb. captivity

Ezekiel 1:3

The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him. Ezekiel: Heb. Jehezkel

Ezekiel 10:15

And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.

Ezekiel 10:20

This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.

Ezekiel 47:5

Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. waters to: Heb. waters of swimming

Ezekiel 47:7

Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. bank: Heb. lip

Ezekiel 47:8

Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. desert: or, plain

People in the Bible and rivers

Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.

In the Bible dictionary

Studying rivers for yourself

  • Begin with Genesis 2:10, then read the passages below in canonical order.
  • Compare how Isaiah, Joshua and Psalms each treat the theme.
  • Consider the lives of Cush, Abraham and Sihon and how their stories intersect with it.
  • Widen the study to related themes: Water, War, Nile, the River and Sea, the.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about rivers?

The Bible addresses rivers across 89 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Isaiah, Joshua and Psalms. Closely related themes include Water, War, Nile, the River and Sea, the. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Cush, Abraham, Sihon and Elisha.

How many Bible verses are about rivers?

The Bible references rivers in 89 verses (King James Version).

Where does the Bible first mention rivers?

In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 2:10: “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.”

Which people in the Bible are associated with rivers?

Cush, Abraham, Sihon, Elisha and Ezekiel.

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