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Isaiah 18
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 18
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Message to Cush
18 Ah! The land of buzzing insect wings[a]
beyond the rivers of Cush(A)
2 sends couriers by sea,
in reed vessels on the waters.
Go, swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared far and near,
a powerful nation with a strange language,[b]
whose land is divided by rivers.
3 All you inhabitants of the world
and you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet sounds, listen!
4 For, the Lord said to me:
I will quietly look out from My place,
like shimmering heat in sunshine,
like a rain cloud in harvest heat.
5 For before the harvest, when the blossoming is over
and the blossom becomes a ripening grape,
He will cut off the shoots with a pruning knife,
and tear away and remove the branches.
6 They will all be left for the birds of prey on the hills
and for the wild animals of the land.
The birds will spend the summer on them,
and all the animals, the winter on them.
7 At that time a gift will be brought to Yahweh of Hosts from[c] a people tall and smooth-skinned,(B) a people feared far and near, a powerful nation with a strange language, whose land is divided by rivers—to Mount Zion, the place of the name of Yahweh of Hosts.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Or of sailing ships
- Isaiah 18:2 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 18:7 DSS, LXX, Vg; MT omits from
Isaiah 18
New Living Translation
Isaiah 18
New Living Translation
A Message about Ethiopia
18 Listen, Ethiopia[a]—land of fluttering sails[b]
that lies at the headwaters of the Nile,
2 that sends ambassadors
in swift boats down the river.
Go, swift messengers!
Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people,
who are feared far and wide
for their conquests and destruction,
and whose land is divided by rivers.
3 All you people of the world,
everyone who lives on the earth—
when I raise my battle flag on the mountain, look!
When I blow the ram’s horn, listen!
4 For the Lord has told me this:
“I will watch quietly from my dwelling place—
as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day,
or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”
5 Even before you begin your attack,
while your plans are ripening like grapes,
the Lord will cut off your new growth with pruning shears.
He will snip off and discard your spreading branches.
6 Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields
for the mountain vultures and wild animals.
The vultures will tear at the corpses all summer.
The wild animals will gnaw at the bones all winter.
7 At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts
from this land divided by rivers,
from this tall, smooth-skinned people,
who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction.
They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem,[c]
where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells.
Isaiah 18
English Standard Version
Isaiah 18
English Standard Version
An Oracle Concerning Cush
18 Ah, land of (A)whirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of (B)Cush,[a]
2 which (C)sends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation (D)tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation (E)mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when (F)a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
4 For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look (G)from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 (H)For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
6 (I)They shall all of them be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 (J)At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts
from a people (K)tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to (L)Mount Zion, the place of the (M)name of the Lord of hosts.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Probably Nubia
Isaiah 18
New International Version
Isaiah 18
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Cush
18 Woe(A) to the land of whirring wings[a]
along the rivers of Cush,[b](B)
2 which sends envoys(C) by sea
in papyrus(D) boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,(E)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive(F) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.(G)
3 All you people of the world,(H)
you who live on the earth,
when a banner(I) is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet(J) sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“I will remain quiet(K) and will look on from my dwelling place,(L)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,(M)
like a cloud of dew(N) in the heat of harvest.”
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off(O) the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.(P)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey(Q)
and to the wild animals;(R)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts(S) will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,(T)
from a people feared(U) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers(V)—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.(W)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
- Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.