Add parallel Print Page Options

An Oracle concerning Cush

18 Woe, land of buzzing[a] wings
    beyond the rivers of Cush,(A)
sending ambassadors by the Nile
    in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
    to a nation tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
    a nation mighty[b] and conquering,
    whose land the rivers divide.(B)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 18.1 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 18.2 Meaning of Heb uncertain

A Prophecy Against Cush

18 Woe(A) to the land of whirring wings[a]
    along the rivers of Cush,[b](B)
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)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
  2. Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region

18 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:

That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

Read full chapter

Proclamation Against Ethiopia

18 Woe (A)to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,
Which is beyond the rivers of [a]Ethiopia,
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.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 18:1 Heb. Cush