Isaiah 18
Modern English Version
An Oracle Concerning Ethiopia
18 Woe to the land vibrating with wings,
which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
2 which sends ambassadors by the sea,
even in vessels of reeds on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth,
to a people feared far and wide,
a nation strong and oppressive,
whose land the rivers have divided.”
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
and dwellers on the earth:
When he lifts up a banner on the mountains,
you will see it;
and when he blows a trumpet,
you will hear it.
4 For so the Lord said to me:
I will look from My dwelling place quietly,
like dazzling heat in the 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,
then He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
and take away and cut down the branches.
6 They shall be left together for the fowl of the mountains
and for the beasts of the earth;
and the fowl shall spend the summer feeding on them,
and all the beasts of the earth shall spend the winter on them.
7 In that time a present shall be brought to the Lord of Hosts
from a people tall and smooth,
and from a people feared far and wide,
a nation strong and oppressive,
whose land the rivers have divided,
to the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts, even Mount Zion.
Read full chapter
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”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software