Isaiah 18 - New International Version (NIV)

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

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

Cross references

  1. Isaiah 18:1 : Isa 5:8
  2. Isaiah 18:1 : S Ge 10:6; S Ps 68:31; S Eze 29:10
  3. Isaiah 18:2 : Ob 1:1
  4. Isaiah 18:2 : Ex 2:3; Job 9:26
  5. Isaiah 18:2 : S Ge 41:14
  6. Isaiah 18:2 : S Ge 10:8-9; S 2Ch 12:3
  7. Isaiah 18:2 : ver 7
  8. Isaiah 18:3 : S Ps 33:8
  9. Isaiah 18:3 : S Ps 60:4; Isa 5:26; 11:10; 13:2; 31:9; Jer 4:21
  10. Isaiah 18:3 : S Jos 6:20; S Jdg 3:27
  11. Isaiah 18:4 : Isa 62:1; 64:12
  12. Isaiah 18:4 : Isa 26:21; Hos 5:15; Mic 1:3
  13. Isaiah 18:4 : S Jdg 5:31; S Ps 18:12; Hab 3:4
  14. Isaiah 18:4 : 2Sa 1:21; S Ps 133:3; Isa 26:19; Hos 14:5
  15. Isaiah 18:5 : S Isa 10:33
  16. Isaiah 18:5 : Isa 17:10-11; Eze 17:6
  17. Isaiah 18:6 : S Isa 8:8
  18. Isaiah 18:6 : Isa 37:36; 56:9; Jer 7:33; Eze 32:4; 39:17
  19. Isaiah 18:7 : S 2Ch 9:24; S Isa 60:7
  20. Isaiah 18:7 : S Ge 41:14
  21. Isaiah 18:7 : Hab 1:7
  22. Isaiah 18:7 : ver 2
  23. Isaiah 18:7 : Ps 68:31

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Isaiah 18 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

18 Ho, land shadowed [with] wings, That [is] beyond the rivers of Cush, 2 That is sending by sea ambassadors, Even with implements of reed on the face of the waters, -- Go, ye light messengers, Unto a nation drawn out and peeled, Unto a people fearful from its beginning and onwards, A nation meeting...
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Isaiah 18 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

18 Woe to the land, (where) the cymbal(-sound) of wings (is heard), which is beyond the flood of Ethiopia (which land is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia); 2 that sendeth messengers by the sea, and in vessels of papyrus on waters. Go, ye messengers, to the folk drawn up and rent; to a fearedful people,...
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Isaiah 18 - World English Bible (WEB)

18 Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia; 2 that sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus on the waters, saying, “Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation that measures ou...
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Isaiah 18 - The Voice (VOICE)

18 O land abuzz with the whirring of wings, far away past the Ethiopian rivers,2 With papyrus-reed boats shuttling ambassadors back and forth! Go quickly, you messengers, to those impressive people,Those fearsome and terrifying people so lank and smooth. Theirs is a powerful nation divided by rivers...
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Isaiah 18 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Ode of Ethiopia18 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 river...
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Isaiah 18 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

An Oracle concerning Ethiopia18 Ah, land of whirring wings which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;2 which sends ambassadors by the Nile, in vessels of papyrus upon the waters!Go, you swift messengers, to a nation, tall and smooth,to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose...
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Isaiah 18 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

An Oracle concerning Ethiopia18 Ah, land of whirring wings which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;2 which sends ambassadors by the Nile, in vessels of papyrus upon the waters!Go, you swift messengers, to a nation, tall and smooth,to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose...
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Isaiah 18 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

An Oracle concerning Ethiopia18 Ah, land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,[a]2 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 and conquering, whose land the rive...
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Isaiah 18 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

An Oracle concerning Cush18 Woe, land of buzzing[a] wings beyond the rivers of Cush,(A)2 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...
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Isaiah 18 - New Living Translation (NLT)

A Message about Ethiopia18 Listen, Ethiopia[a]—land of fluttering sails[b] that lies at the headwaters of the Nile,2 that sends ambassadors in swift boats down the river.Go, swift messengers!Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and widefor their conquests and destructi...
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Isaiah 18 - New Life Version (NLV)

Word about Cush18 Trouble will come to the land on the other side of the rivers of Cush where the sound of wings is heard. 2 From that land men are sent by the sea in boats made from tall river-grass. Go, you fast men, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people who fill others with fear both near and...
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Isaiah 18 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Proclamation Against Ethiopia18 Woe (A)to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,Which is beyond the rivers of [a]Ethiopia,2 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...
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Isaiah 18 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

A prophecy against Cush18 Woe to the land of whirring wings[a] along the rivers of Cush,[b]2 which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water.Go, swift messengers,to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide,an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divid...
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Isaiah 18 - New International Version (NIV)

A Prophecy Against Cush18 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, w...
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Isaiah 18 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

A Prophecy Against Cush18 How terrible it will be for the land whose armies are like large numbers of flying insects! That land is along the rivers of Cush.2 Its people send messengers on the Nile River. They travel over the water in papyrus boats. Messengers, hurry back home! Go back to your people...
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Isaiah 18 - New English Translation (NET)

The Lord Will Judge a Distant Land in the South18 Beware, land of buzzing wings,[a]the one beyond the rivers of Cush,2 that sends messengers by sea,who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.Go, you swift messengers,to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people,[b]to a people that are ...
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