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Isaiah 18
New King James Version
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
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
Isaías 18
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica)
Isaías 18
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica)
Contra Cus
18 ¡Ay del país donde zumban enjambres,
más allá de los ríos de Cus,
2 que envía sus correos por el mar,
por el agua en canoas de junco!
Vayan, rápidos, mensajeros a esa gente
esbelta y de tez brillante,
a ese pueblo temido por doquier,
que domina con fuerza y con nervio,
con su tierra surcada por ríos.
3 Habitantes del mundo,
moradores de la tierra,
miren cuando se alce
una enseña en los montes,
escuchen cuando oigan
el sonido del cuerno.
4 Pues así me dijo el Señor:
Desde mi sitio contemplo sereno:
como el calor ardiente del sol,
como nube de rocío en plena siega.
5 Antes de la vendimia, pasada la floración,
cuando están madurando los agraces,
se aplica la podadera a los racimos,
se cortan y se tiran los sarmientos.
6 Quedarán a merced de las rapaces del monte,
abandonados a las fieras del campo:
pasarán allí el verano las rapaces,
el invierno las fieras del campo.
7 Entonces traerá tributo al Señor del universo la gente esbelta de tez brillante, el pueblo temido por doquier, que domina con fuerza y con nervio, con su tierra surcada por ríos; lo traerán al lugar donde se invoca el nombre del Señor del universo, al Monte Sión.
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
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica) (BLPH)
La Palabra, (versión hispanoamericana) © 2010 Texto y Edición, Sociedad Bíblica de España
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.