Isaiah 41:17 (ASV)

Passage

The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 41:15 Behold, I have made thee [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

Isaiah 41:16 Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers on the bare heights, 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 41:19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "poor", "needy", "seek", "water", "none", "tongue", "faileth", and "thirst". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "poor" and "needy", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Thou shalt winnow them and the wind..." into verse 18's "I will open rivers on the bare...", so "poor" and "needy" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "poor" and "needy" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.