Isaiah 18

Message to Ethiopia

1Alas, oh land of whirring wings Which lies beyond the rivers of 12Cush,2Which sends envoys by the sea, Even in 3papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation 45tall and smooth, To a people 6feared 7far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide.38All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth, As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, 9you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it. 4For thus the Lord has told me, “I will look 10from My 11dwelling place quietly Like dazzling heat in the 1213sunshine, Like a cloud of 14dew in the heat of harvest.”5For 15before the harvest, as soon as the bud 16blossoms And the flower becomes a ripening grape, Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives And remove and cut away the spreading branches.6They will be left together for mountain birds 17of prey, And for the beasts of the earth; And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.7At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hosts 18From a 19people 20tall and smooth, Even from a people feared 21far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide-- To the 22place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.