boats sailing on water

When you face a painting for the first time your eyes take it all in at once and the painting says something directly right off at first glance with no studying at all. Hieroglyphics are like paintings this way.

Some things jump out at you and begin telling their story at a glance with no organization. These are the symbols that leap out at me, other people may have other symbols jump out at them. They may see the words "empty" and "riverbank" and "walking" and "searching" but those words do not leap out at me.

The textbook for first and second semester Spanish had an essay midway through the book about Christopher Columbus. I recall thinking at first leafing through the book, if all I can manage is this simple essay midway then my goal will be satisfied for the course. I really only want to know what all those las and les and los things stand for anyway. Likewise, my goal for these hieroglyphs is to be able to see what is going on, and that's all. I don' t care about being a linguist or about proper grammar or what tense, mood or specific verb conjugation or any of that. All I want is to be able to recognize what they are talking about. 

This is something river Egypt, most likely Nile, water, walking on two feet, boats, that sail, pathway and becoming. All that at a glance. No effort at all in attempting to decipher, just recognize the symbols under discussion that's all. I'm satisfied without looking further. I learned what I came for. 

I have been enjoying watching the class handle these these things with tremendous satisfaction. 

Digging into the specifics, observing their struggles, their teacher interprets the strings thusly:

The rivers will have run dry (those of Egypt) so they can be crossed on foot. You (or one) will seek water out for ships to sail it, but its course will have become a river bank.

The students interpret the strings like this:

* The rivers of Egypt have gone dry so that the water can be crossed on foot.
One will search for water for the boats in order to sail (on) it,
its course having become a sand-bank.

(there is no mention of sand)

* The river channels of Egypt are empty so that the waters are crossed on foot. One will search for (enough) water for boats to sail on (it), his route having become the river bank. 

* The Nile of Egypt has been empty, one will ferry across the water on two feet, and one will seek out water for ship in order to sail it, its course has turned into river bank. 

* The empty river of Egypt can be crossed on two feet
One will seek water in order to sail boats on it
It’s course has become a riverbank

* The rivers of Egypt are empty one can cross the water by foot
one seeks out deep water for boats to sail on it

its course has become a sand bank 

* The empty river of Egypt--it can be crossed on foot.

one searches for water (and) for a ships to sail it.

It's way has become as a riverbank

* “The river of Egypt has dried up, and the water can be crossed on foot

“… one is to seek out water for the ships to be able to sail …”“… since its course has become (merely) a bank.”

* The empty river of Egypt is crossed on foot,

One searches for water for boats in order to sail on it

Its course has become as a riverbank

* The Nile of Egypt is empty and the water is crossed on foot

One seeks out water for ships to travel it, because its course

has become the river bank.

* The river of Egypt is empty; one crosses the water on foot. One will

search for water for ships for him to sail on and his course changes

to/winds up on the bank.

* The rivers of Egypt will turn dry, so that the water can be crossed on foot

One will search for water for ships to sail on it

(but) its course has become a river bank