Isaiah 18:1-7

Isaiah 18:1-7 The Message (MSG)

Doom to the land of flies and mosquitoes beyond the Ethiopian rivers, Shipping emissaries all over the world, down rivers and across seas. Go, swift messengers, go to this people tall and handsome, This people held in respect everywhere, this people mighty and merciless, from the land crisscrossed with rivers. Everybody everywhere, all earth-dwellers: When you see a flag flying on the mountain, look! When you hear the trumpet blown, listen! For here’s what GOD told me: “I’m not going to say anything, but simply look on from where I live, Quiet as warmth that comes from the sun, silent as dew during harvest.” And then, just before harvest, after the blossom has turned into a maturing grape, He’ll step in and prune back the new shoots, ruthlessly hack off all the growing branches. He’ll leave them piled on the ground for birds and animals to feed on— Fodder for the summering birds, fodder for the wintering animals. Then tribute will be brought to GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, brought from this people tall and handsome, This people once held in respect everywhere, this people once mighty and merciless, From the land crisscrossed with rivers, to Mount Zion, GOD’s place.

Isaiah 18:1-7 King James Version (KJV)

Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 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! 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. For so the LORD said unto 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. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.

Isaiah 18:1-7 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Alas, oh land of whirring wings Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush, Which sends envoys by the sea, Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide. All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth, As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it. For thus the LORD has told me, “I will look from My dwelling place quietly Like dazzling heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms 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. They will be left together for mountain birds of 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. At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth, Even from a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, even Mount Zion.

Isaiah 18:1-7 New Century Version (NCV)

How terrible it will be for the land beyond the rivers of Cush. It is filled with the sound of wings. That land sends messengers across the sea; they go on the water in boats made of reeds. Go, quick messengers, to a people who are tall and smooth-skinned, who are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations. Their land is divided by rivers. All you people of the world, look! Everyone who lives in the world, look! You will see a banner raised on a mountain. You will hear a trumpet sound. The LORD said to me, “I will quietly watch from where I live, like heat in the sunshine, like the dew in the heat of harvest time.” The time will come, after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest, when new grapes will be budding and growing. The enemy will cut the plants with knives; he will cut down the vines and take them away. They will be left for the birds of the mountains and for the wild animals. Birds will feed on them all summer, and wild animals will eat them that winter.” At that time a gift will be brought to the LORD All-Powerful from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned, who are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations. Their land is divided by rivers. These gifts will be brought to the place of the LORD All-Powerful, to Mount Zion.

Isaiah 18:1-7 American Standard Version (ASV)

Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia; that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide! All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye. For thus hath Jehovah said unto me, I will be still, and I will behold in my dwelling-place, like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, he will cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and the spreading branches will he take away and cut down. They shall be left together unto the ravenous birds of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth; and the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. In that time shall a present be brought unto Jehovah of hosts from a people tall and smooth, even from a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mount Zion.

Isaiah 18:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush, 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. 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. This is what the LORD says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches. They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter. At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers— the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.

Isaiah 18:1-7 New King James Version (NKJV)

Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 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.” 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. For so the LORD said to me, “I will take My rest, And I will look from My dwelling place Like clear heat in sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches. They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey And for the beasts of the earth; The birds of prey will summer on them, And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. In that time a present will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth of skin, And from a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, To Mount Zion.

Isaiah 18:1-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Woe (judgment is coming) to the land of whirring wings Which is beyond the rivers of Cush (Ethiopia), Which sends ambassadors by the sea, Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven), To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide. All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it! When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it! For this is what the LORD has said to me, “I will be quiet and I will look on from My dwelling place, Like shimmering heat above the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the harvest, when the blossom is over And the flower becomes a ripening grape, He will cut off the sprigs [without buds] with pruning knives, And [He will] remove and cut away the spreading branches. They (warriors) will be left together for the mountain birds of 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. At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth (clean shaven), From a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place [of worship] of the name of the LORD of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].

Isaiah 18:1-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

Listen, 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. All 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! For 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.” Even before you begin your attack, while your plans are ripening like grapes, the LORD will cut off your new growth with pruning shears. He will snip off and discard your spreading branches. Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields for the mountain vultures and wild animals. The vultures will tear at the corpses all summer. The wild animals will gnaw at the bones all winter. At 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.

Isaiah 18:1-7 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Ah, the land of whirring wings, that is beyond the rivers of Cush, sending their messengers by the way of the Nile in papyrus vessels gliding on the water! Go, you swift messengers, to a tall, smooth-skinned people feared far and wide, to a mighty conquering nation whose land the rivers divide. Everyone everywhere, all who dwell on the earth, when a signal flag is raised on the mountain, take notice! When the shofar is blown, listen! Here is what the Lord YAHWEH said to me: “I will rest calm and confident as I look from my dwelling place, serene as on a pleasant summer day or as a cool, refreshing cloud in the heat of harvest.” Before the harvest, when the bud is ripening and the flower finishes, he will take his pruning hooks and cut off the shoots and remove them. They will all be left for the birds of prey on the mountains and for the wild animals to devour. Birds will eat them throughout the summer, and the animals will gnaw on the bones of the fallen all winter. At that time, a tall, smooth-skinned people will bring gifts of tribute to the Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. They are a people feared far and wide, a mighty conquering nation whose land the rivers divide. They will bring their gifts to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies.

Isaiah 18:1-7 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush, 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. 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! For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away. They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts