Isaiah 18
Tree of Life Version
Ode of Ethiopia
18 Oy! The land of whirring wings,
which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
2 that sends ambassadors by sea,
in papyrus vessels upon the water.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall
and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide,
a nation powerful and oppressive,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
and dwellers on earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains,
look!
when a shofar is blown,
listen!
4 For so Adonai has said to me:
“I will remain quiet, and look from My dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in harvest heat.”
5 For before the harvest, as soon as blossoming is over
and flower becomes ripening grape,
He will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
He will cut back and remove the twigs.
6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey
and the beasts of the land.
The birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the land will winter upon them.
7 At that time tribute will be brought to Adonai-Tzva’ot
from a nation tall and smooth-skinned,
from a people feared far and wide,
a nation powerful and oppressive,
whose land the rivers divide—
to the place of the Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot—Mount Zion!
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
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
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