Isaiah 18
American Standard Version
18 Ah, the land [a]of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of [b]Ethiopia; 2 that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, [c]even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation [d]tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation [e]that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers [f]divide! 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye.
4 For thus hath Jehovah said unto me, I will be still, and I will behold in my dwelling-place, [g]like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, he will cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and the spreading branches will he take away and cut down. 6 They shall be left together unto the ravenous birds of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth; and the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. 7 In that time shall a present be brought unto Jehovah of hosts from a people [h]tall and smooth, even from a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mount Zion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Or, shadowing with wings
- Isaiah 18:1 Hebrew Cush.
- Isaiah 18:2 Or, and
- Isaiah 18:2 Or, dragged away and peeled
- Isaiah 18:2 Or, meted out and trodden down Hebrew of line, line, and of treading down.
- Isaiah 18:2 Or, have despoiled
- Isaiah 18:4 Or, when there is
- Isaiah 18:7 Or, dragged away and peeled
Isaiah 18
Lexham English Bible
Oracle of Judgment on Cush
18 Ah! land of the whirring of wings,
which is beyond the rivers of Cush,
2 that sends messengers by the sea
and in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters!
Go, swift messengers, to a tall[a] and smooth[b] nation,
to a people feared near and far,[c]
a mighty, mighty[d] and trampling[e] nation,
whose land rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world
and dwellers of the earth,
when a signal is raised on the[f] mountains, you must look,
and when a trumpet is blown,[g] you must listen!
4 For Yahweh said this to me:
“I will be quiet,
and I will look from my dwelling place
like clear heat because of light,[h]
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is complete[i]
and a blossom becomes ripening fruit,
and one cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and one removes, tears away the tendrils.
6 They shall all be left[j] for birds[k] of prey of the mountains
and for the animals[l] of the earth.
And the birds[m] of prey will pass the summer on it,
and every animal of the earth will winter on it.
7 At that time, a gift[n] will be brought to Yahweh of hosts
from a tall[o] and smooth[p] people,
and from a people feared near and far,
a mighty, mighty and trampling nation,
whose land the rivers divide,
to the place of the name of Yahweh of hosts,
the mountain of Zion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:2 Literally “stretched out”
- Isaiah 18:2 Literally “peeled,” “wiped clean,” or “hairless”
- Isaiah 18:2 Literally “from this and beyond”
- Isaiah 18:2 Perhaps this is a gibberish phrase in Hebrew, qaw-qaw
- Isaiah 18:2 Meaning uncertain
- Isaiah 18:3 Literally “as a raising of a signal”
- Isaiah 18:3 Literally “as a blowing of a trumpet”
- Isaiah 18:4 The meaning of this phrase is uncertain; perhaps the “light” is sunlight
- Isaiah 18:5 Literally “as a completion of a blossom”
- Isaiah 18:6 Literally “be left together”
- Isaiah 18:6 Hebrew “bird”
- Isaiah 18:6 Hebrew “animal”
- Isaiah 18:6 Hebrew “bird”
- Isaiah 18:7 Perhaps tribute is meant
- Isaiah 18:7 Literally “stretched out”
- Isaiah 18:7 Literally “peeled,” “wiped clean,” or “hairless”
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