Revised Webster's Bible
Isaiah 18:2
2That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and stripped, to a people terrible from their beginning to this time; a nation powerful and oppressive, whose land the rivers have spoiled!123
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
1Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Cush: That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and stripped, to a people terrible from their beginning to this time; a nation powerful and oppressive, whose land the rivers have spoiled! 3All 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. 4For so the LORD said to me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of 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
- sendethשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- ambassadorsצִירtsîyr · envoyH6735
- seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- vesselsכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
- bulrushesגֹּ֫מֶאgôme' · reedH1573
- uponפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- Goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- swiftקַלqal · swiftH7031
- messengersמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
- nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- scatteredמָשַׁךְmâshak · to drawH4900
- strippedמוֹרָטmôrâţ · make smoothH4178
- peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- terribleיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
- timeהָֽ֫לְאָהhâle'âh · furtherH1973
- powerfulקַוְקָוqav-qav · mightH6978
- oppressiveמְבוּסָהmebûsâh · subjugationH4001
- landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
- spoiledבָּזָאbâzâ' · to divideH958
Cross-references for Isaiah 18:2
- Isaiah 30:2That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
- Ezekiel 30:9In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Cushites afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
- Isaiah 2:3And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 18:7In that time shall the present be brought to the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and stripped, and from a people terrible from their beginning to this time; a nation powerful and oppressive, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
- Genesis 10:8And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
- 2 Chronicles 12:2And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,
- 2 Chronicles 14:9And there came out against them Zerah the Cushite with an host of a million, and three hundred chariots; and came to Mareshah.
- 2 Chronicles 16:8Were not the Cushites and the Lubims a huge army, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thy hand.
- Isaiah 19:5And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the rivers shall be wasted and dried up.
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
Notes
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
Revised Webster's Bible — 1833 — Public Domain
Commentaries