Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 18:1–4

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The Lord Will Judge a Distant Land in the South

18:1The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead,1

the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

18:2that sends messengers by sea,

who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people,2

to a people that are feared far and wide,3

to a nation strong and victorious,4

whose land rivers divide.5

18:3All you who live in the world,

who reside on the earth,

you will see a signal flag raised on the mountains;

you will hear a trumpet being blown.

18:4For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait6 and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight,7

like a cloud of mist8 in the heat9 of harvest.”10

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of . The significance of the qualifying phrase “buzzing wings” is uncertain. Some suggest that the designation points to Cush as a land with many insects. Another possibility is that it refers to the swiftness with which this land’s messengers travel (v. 2a); they move over the sea as swiftly as an insect flies through the air. For a discussion of the options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (), 1:.
  2. 2 The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mémushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See 604 מָשַׁךְ, and משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See 598–99 מָרַט, and מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
  3. 3 Heb “from it and onwards.” הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
  4. 4 Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mévusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See 101 בּוּס and מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
  5. 5 The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. 102 suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; , citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”
  6. 6 Or “be quiet, inactive”; “will remain quiet.”
  7. 7 Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
  8. 8 Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
  9. 9 Some medieval Hebrew , with support from the , , and Latin , read “the day.”
  10. 10 It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (), 1:.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Woe to the land of buzzing insect wings

beyond the rivers of Cush,

which sends envoys by sea,

in reed vessels over the water.

Go, swift messengers,

to a nation tall and smooth-skinned,

to a people feared far and near,

a powerful nation with a strange language,

whose land is divided by rivers.

All you inhabitants of the world

and you who live on the earth,

when a banner is raised on the mountains, look!

When a trumpet sounds, listen!

For the Lord said to me:

I will quietly look out from my place,

like shimmering heat in sunshine,

like a rain cloud in harvest heat.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

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.”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Ah! land of the whirring of wings,

which is beyond the rivers of Cush,

that sends messengers by the sea

and in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters!

Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth nation,

to a people feared near and far,

a mighty, mighty and trampling nation,

whose land rivers divide.

All you inhabitants of the world

and dwellers of the earth,

when a signal is raised on the mountains, you must look,

and when a trumpet is blown, you must listen!

For Yahweh said this to me:

“I will be quiet,

and I will look from my dwelling place

like clear heat because of light,

like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

Public Domain