Isaiah 18
GOD’S WORD Translation
Sudan Will Be Punished
18 How horrible it will be for the land of whirring wings
which lies beyond the rivers of Sudan.
2 It sends messengers by sea
in boats made of reeds
⌞skimming⌟ over the surface of the water.
Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth-skinned people,
a people ⌞who are⌟ feared far and near,
a strong and aggressive nation,
whose land is divided by rivers.
3 Look when someone raises a flag on the mountains.
Listen when someone blows a ram’s horn,
all you inhabitants of the world who live on the earth.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
I will keep quiet and watch from my dwelling place.
My presence will be like scorching heat in the sunshine,
like heavy dew in the heat of the harvest.
5 Before the harvest, when blossoms are gone
and grapes are ripening from blossoms,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning shears
and chop off the spreading branches.
6 They will be left for the birds of prey on the mountains
and the wild animals.
The birds of prey will feed on them in the summer,
and all the wild animals on earth
will feed on them in the winter.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord of Armies
from a tall and smooth-skinned people,
a people ⌞who are⌟ feared far and near,
a strong and aggressive nation,
whose land is divided by rivers.
They will be brought to Mount Zion,
the place where the name of the Lord of Armies is.
Isaiah 18
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Ethiopia
18 Woe (A)to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,
Which is beyond the rivers of [a]Ethiopia,
2 Which sends ambassadors by sea,
Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin,
To a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide.”
3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth:
(B)When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
4 For so the Lord said to me,
“I will take My rest,
And I will [b]look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
And take away and cut down the branches.
6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey
And for the beasts of the earth;
The birds of prey will summer on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 In that time (C)a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts
[c]From a people tall and smooth of skin,
And from a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
To Mount Zion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Heb. Cush
- Isaiah 18:4 watch
- Isaiah 18:7 So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT omits From; Tg. To
Isaiah 18
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
An Oracle concerning Ethiopia
18 Ah, land of whirring wings
which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;
2 which sends ambassadors by the Nile,
in vessels of papyrus upon the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation, tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when 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 from my dwelling
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 becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he will hew away.
6 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 upon them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter upon them,
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord of hosts
from a people tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.