Font Size
Isaiah 18
New Century Version
Isaiah 18
New Century Version
God’s Message to Cush
18 How terrible it will be for the land beyond the rivers of Cush.
It is filled with the sound of wings.
2 That land sends messengers across the sea;
they go on the water in boats made of reeds.
Go, quick messengers,
to a people who are tall and smooth-skinned,
who are feared everywhere.
They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations.
Their land is divided by rivers.
3 All you people of the world, look!
Everyone who lives in the world, look!
You will see a banner raised on a mountain.
You will hear a trumpet sound.
4 The Lord said to me,
“I will quietly watch from where I live,
like heat in the sunshine,
like the dew in the heat of harvest time.”
5 The time will come, after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest,
when new grapes will be budding and growing.
The enemy will cut the plants with knives;
he will cut down the vines and take them away.
6 They will be left for the birds of the mountains
and for the wild animals.
Birds will feed on them all summer,
and wild animals will eat them that winter.”
7 At that time a gift will be brought to the Lord All-Powerful
from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned,
who are feared everywhere.
They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations.
Their land is divided by rivers.
These gifts will be brought to the place of the Lord All-Powerful,
to Mount Zion.
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
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
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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.
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.