God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 18:3
3Look when someone raises a flag on the mountains. Listen when someone blows a ram’s horn, all you inhabitants of the world who live on the earth.
Isaiah 18:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.
- New International Version (NIV)All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!
- New King James Version (NKJV)All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
Context of Isaiah 18:3
1How horrible it will be for the land of whirring wings which lies beyond the rivers of Sudan. 2It sends messengers by sea in boats made of reeds ⌞skimming⌟ over the surface of the water. Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth-skinned people, a people ⌞who are⌟ feared far and near, a strong and aggressive nation, whose land is divided by rivers. Look when someone raises a flag on the mountains. Listen when someone blows a ram’s horn, all you inhabitants of the world who live on the earth. 4This is what the Lord says to me: I will keep quiet and watch from my dwelling place. My presence will be like scorching heat in the sunshine, like heavy dew in the heat of the harvest. 5Before the harvest, when blossoms are gone and grapes are ripening from blossoms, he will cut off the shoots with pruning shears and chop off the spreading branches.
Read all of Isaiah 18Isaiah 18:3 word by word
כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵ֖ל וְשֹׁ֣כְנֵי אָ֑רֶץ כִּנְשֹׂא־נֵ֤ס הָרִים֙ תִּרְא֔וּ וְכִתְקֹ֥עַ שׁוֹפָ֖ר תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- All ye inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- of the worldתֵּבֵלtêbêl · worldH8398
- and dwellersשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
- on the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- ye, when he lifteth upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- an ensignנֵסnês · ensignH5251
- on the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- and when he blowethתָּקַעtâqa‛ · to blowH8628
- a trumpetשֹׁפָרshôphâr shôphâr · trumpetH7782
- hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
Cross-references for Isaiah 18:3
- Isaiah 1:2Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth! The Lord has spoken, “I raised ⌞my⌟ children and helped them grow, but they have rebelled against me.
- Psalms 49:1Listen to this, all you people. Open your ears, all who live in the world—
- Psalms 50:1The Lord, the only true God, has spoken. He has summoned the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.
- Jeremiah 22:29O land, land, land! Listen to the Lord’s word.
- Micah 6:2Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains. Listen, you strong foundations of the earth. The Lord has filed a lawsuit against his people. He is arguing his case against Israel.
- Isaiah 5:26The Lord raises up a flag for the nations far away. With a whistle he signals those at the ends of the earth. Look, they are coming very quickly!
- Isaiah 7:18On that day the Lord will whistle for the flies that are at the distant branches of the Nile River in Egypt and for the bees that are in Assyria.
- Isaiah 13:2Raise a banner on the bare mountaintop. Call loudly to them. Signal them with your hand to enter the nobles’ gates.
- Isaiah 26:11O Lord, your power is visible, but they do not see it. They will see how devoted your people are, and they will be put to shame. Your burning anger will destroy your enemies.
- Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds an alarm in a city, won’t the people be alarmed? If there is a disaster in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it?
- Micah 6:9The voice of the Lord calls out to the city. (The fear of your name is wisdom.) “Listen, you tribe assembled in the city.
- Zechariah 9:14The Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go out like lightning. The Almighty Lord will blow the ram’s horn and will march in the storms from the south.
- Matthew 13:9Let the person who has ears listen!”
Commentaries on Isaiah 18:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3When he lifteth up an ensign "When the standard is lifted up" - I take God to be the Agent in this verse; and that by the standard and the trumpet are meant the meteors, the thunder, the lightning, the storm, earthquake, and tempest, by which Sennacherib's army shall be destroyed, or by which at least the destruction of it shall be accompanied; as it is described in Isaiah 10:16, Isaiah 10:17; Isaiah 29:6, and Isaiah 30:30, Isaiah 30:31. See also Psalm…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3All ye inhabitants of the world - These are to be regarded as the words of the prophet summoning all nations to attend to that which was about to occur. Grotius, however, and some others, suppose that they are the words of the Ethiopians. The meaning is, that the events which are here predicted would be of so public a nature as to attract the attention of all the world. When he - Vitringa supposes that this means the Assyrians lifting up a standard on the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Both the banner and ram's horn were used to organize and send signals to armies during battles (see Judges 3:27; 6:34; 2 Samuel 2:28).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. see ye ... hear ye--rather, "ye shall see ... shall hear." Call to the whole earth to be witnesses of what Jehovah ("He") is about to do. He will "lift up an ensign," calling the Assyrian motley hosts together (Is 5:26) on "the mountains" round Jerusalem, to their own destruction. This (the eighteenth chapter) declares the coming overthrow of those armies whose presence is announced in Is 17:12, 13. The same motive, which led Hezekiah to seek aid from…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 18:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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