Isaiah 18
18
Oracle of Judgment on Cush
1Ah! land of the whirring of wings,
which is beyond the rivers of Cush,
2that sends messengers by the sea
and in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters!
Go, swift messengers, to a tall#Literally “stretched out” and smooth#Literally “peeled,” “wiped clean,” or “hairless” nation,
to a people feared near and far,#Literally “from this and beyond”
a mighty, mighty#Perhaps this is a gibberish phrase in Hebrew, qaw-qaw and trampling#Meaning uncertain nation,
whose land rivers divide.
3All you inhabitants of the world
and dwellers of the earth,
when a signal is raised on the#Literally “as a raising of a signal” mountains, you must look,
and when a trumpet is blown,#Literally “as a blowing of a trumpet” you must listen!
4For Yahweh said this to me:
“I will be quiet,
and I will look from my dwelling place
like clear heat because of light,#The meaning of this phrase is uncertain; perhaps the “light” is sunlight
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5For before the harvest, when the blossom is complete#Literally “as a completion of a blossom”
and a blossom becomes ripening fruit,
and one cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and one removes, tears away the tendrils.
6They shall all be left#Literally “be left together” for birds#Hebrew “bird” of prey of the mountains
and for the animals#Hebrew “animal” of the earth.
And the birds#Hebrew “bird” of prey will pass the summer on it,
and every animal of the earth will winter on it.
7At that time, a gift#Perhaps tribute is meant will be brought to Yahweh of hosts
from a tall#Literally “stretched out” and smooth#Literally “peeled,” “wiped clean,” or “hairless” 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.
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Isaiah 18: LEB
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Isaiah 18
18
Ethiopia Will Be Punished
1 #
Zep 2.12. Downstream from Ethiopia#18.1 Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
lies the country of Egypt,
swarming with insects.#18.1 insects: Or “sailing ships.”
2Egypt sends messengers
up the Nile River
on ships made of reeds.#18.2 reeds: Ancient Egypt was famous for the papyrus reeds that grew in the Nile Delta.
Send them fast to Ethiopia,
whose people are tall
and have smooth skin.
Their land is divided by rivers;
they are strong and brutal,
feared all over the world.#18.2 world: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 2.
3Everyone on this earth,
listen with care!
A signal will be given
on the mountains,
and you will hear a trumpet.
4The Lord said to me,
“I will calmly look down
from my home above—
as calmly as the sun at noon
or clouds in the heat
of harvest season.”
5Before the blossoms
can turn into grapes,
God will cut off the sprouts
and hack off the branches.
6Ethiopians will be food
for mountain vultures
during the summer
and for wild animals
during the winter.
7Those Ethiopians are tall and their skin is smooth. They are feared all over the world, because they are strong and brutal. But at that time they will come from their land divided by rivers, and they will bring gifts to the Lord All-Powerful, who is worshiped on Mount Zion.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.