Isaiah 18

A Prophecy Against Cush

18Woe^y to the land of whirring wings^a

along the rivers of Cush,^bz

²which sends envoys^a by sea

in papyrus^b boats over the water.

Go, swift messengers,

to a people tall and smooth-skinned,^c

to a people feared far and wide,

an aggressive^d nation of strange speech,

whose land is divided by rivers.^e

³All you people of the world,^f

you who live on the earth,

when a banner^g is raised on the mountains,

you will see it,

and when a trumpet^h sounds,

you will hear it.

⁴This is what the Lord says to me:

“I will remain quietⁱ and will look on from my dwelling place,^j

like shimmering heat in the sunshine,^k

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

⁵For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone

and the flower becomes a ripening grape,

he will cut off^m the shoots with pruning knives,

and cut down and take away the spreading branches.ⁿ

⁶They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey^o

and to the wild animals;^p

the birds will feed on them all summer,

the wild animals all winter.

⁷At that time gifts^q will be brought to the Lord Almighty

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,^r

from a people feared^s far and wide,

an aggressive nation of strange speech,

whose land is divided by rivers^t—

the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.^u