New Living Translation
Isaiah 18:2
2that 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 wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers.
Isaiah 18:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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!
- New International Version (NIV)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 divided by rivers.
- English Standard Version (ESV)which sends ambassadors by the sea, 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 rivers divide.
- New King James Version (NKJV)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.”
Context of Isaiah 18:2
1Listen, Ethiopia—land of fluttering sails that lies at the headwaters of the Nile, 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 wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers. 3All you people of the world, everyone who lives on the earth— when I raise my battle flag on the mountain, look! When I blow the ram’s horn, listen! 4For the Lord has told me this: “I will watch quietly from my dwelling place— as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day, or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”
Read all of Isaiah 18Isaiah 18:2 word by word
הַשֹּׁלֵ֨חַ בַּיָּ֜ם צִירִ֗ים וּבִכְלֵי־גֹמֶא֮ עַל־פְּנֵי־מַיִם֒ לְכ֣וּ׀ מַלְאָכִ֣ים קַלִּ֗ים אֶל־גּוֹי֙ מְמֻשָּׁ֣ךְ וּמוֹרָ֔ט אֶל־עַ֥ם נוֹרָ֖א מִן־ה֣וּא וָהָ֑לְאָה גּ֚וֹי קַו־קָ֣ו וּמְבוּסָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־בָּזְא֥וּ נְהָרִ֖ים אַרְצֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- That sendethשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- ambassadorsצִירtsîyr · envoyH6735
- by the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- even in vesselsכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
- of bulrushesגֹּ֫מֶאgôme' · reedH1573
- uponפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- Goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- ye swiftקַלqal · swiftH7031
- messengersמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
- to a nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- scatteredמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
- and peeledמוֹרָטmôrâţ · make smoothH4178
- to a peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- terribleיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
- from their beginning hithertoהָֽ֫לְאָהhâle'âh · furtherH1973
- meted outקַוְקָוqav-qav · mightH6978
- and trodden downמְבוּסָהmebûsâh · subjugationH4001
- whose landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- the riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
- have spoiledבָּזָאbâzâ' · to divideH958
Cross-references for Isaiah 18:2
- Isaiah 30:2For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade.
- Ezekiel 30:9At that time I will send swift messengers in ships to terrify the complacent Ethiopians. Great panic will come upon them on that day of Egypt’s certain destruction. Watch for it! It is sure to come!
- Isaiah 2:3People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 18:7At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells.
- Genesis 10:8Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth.
- 2 Chronicles 12:2Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign.
- 2 Chronicles 14:9Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah,
- 2 Chronicles 16:8Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you.
- Isaiah 19:5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry.
Commentaries on Isaiah 18:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2In vessels of bulrushes "In vessels of papyrus" - This circumstance agrees perfectly well with Egypt. It is well known that the Egyptians commonly used on the Nile a light sort of ships, or boats, made of the reed papyrus. Ex ipso quidem papyro navigia texunt. Pliny, 42:11. Conseritur bibula Memphitis cymba papyro. Lucan, 4:136. Go, ye swift messengers - To this nation before mentioned, who, by the Nile, and by their numerous canals, have the means of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2That sendeth ambassadors - That is, “accustomed” to send messengers. What was the design of their thus sending ambassadors does not appear. The prophet simply intimates the fact; a fact by which they were well known. It may have been for purposes of commerce, or to seek protection. Bochart renders the word translated ambassadors‘ by “images,” and supposes that it denotes an image of the god Osiris made of the papyrus; but there does not seem to be any…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-7This section includes predictions of judgment against Damascus, Israel, Ethiopia, and Egypt. The scene shifts from the crisis in 734 BC (the alliance of Syria and Israel; see study note on Isaiah 7:1–25) to the Assyrian crisis in 701 BC (see Isaiah 36–37).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. ambassadors--messengers sent to Jerusalem at the time that negotiations passed between Tirhakah and Hezekiah against the expected attack of Sennacherib (Is 37:9). by ... sea--on the Nile (Is 19:5): as what follows proves. vessels of bulrushes--light canoes, formed of papyrus, daubed over with pitch: so the "ark" in which Moses was exposed (Ex 2:3). Go--Isaiah tells them to take back the tidings of what God is about to do (Is 18:4) against the common…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 18:2
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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