פירוש על ישעיהו 41:17

seek water The prophet prophesied concerning the end of days (Amos 8:11), “Not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of the Lord...They shall wander to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.” And when His wrath subsides, He shall prepare for them bread and water and cause His Shechinah and His spirit to rest in the mouth of their prophets.

The poor, etc. In their return from Babylon to Jerusalem.

is parched Heb. נָשָׁתָּה. An expression similar to (supra 19:5) “And water from the sea shall dry up (וְנִשְּׁתּוּ).” An expression similar to (Lam. 3:45) “The destruction (הַשֵּׁאת) and the breach.” And all of them are an expression of destruction and dryness. Therefore, a ‘dagesh’ appears in the ‘tav,’ since it comes instead of two, for there is no שֵׁאת without a ‘tav,’ and he should have said for the feminine וְנָשָׁתְתָה, since for the masculine singular he says נשתה and for the plural ונשתו.

נשתה Faileth. Comp. ונשתו and shall fail (19:5).

The God of Israel, I (אני) of the preceding, refers to this sentence also, and is to be supplied before the God, as is often the case.