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
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Heb. Cush
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
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:
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.
Exodus
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
Leviticus
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
Deuteronomy
From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:
Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.
From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.
Joshua
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.
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.
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,)
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:
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;
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.
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.
2 Kings
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. Abana: or, Amana
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
1 Chronicles
And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. overflown: Heb. filled over
Job
He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. the floods: or, streaming brooks
He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; me: Heb. with me
Psalms
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
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
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
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. mighty: Heb. rivers of strength
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
He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. He: Heb. Who run: Heb. walk
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Isaiah
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:
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
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
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
Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
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.
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
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
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
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
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.
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
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.
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. strength: Heb. girdle
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.
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
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
Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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?
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
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
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?
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
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
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
And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
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.
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
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
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
Daniel
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. bank: Heb. lip bank: Heb. lip
New Testament
John
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
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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