An Oracle Concerning Cush

Isaiah 18

1 Ah, land of o whirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of p Cush, 1
2 which q sends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation, r tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation s mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.

3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when t a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
 4 For thus the Lord said to me:
"I will quietly look u from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
 5 v 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.
 6 v 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.

7 w At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts
from a people x tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to y Mount Zion, the place of the z name of the Lord of hosts.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 8:8
    And it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.
    Isaiah 17:12
    Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
  2. Cross References
    2 Kings 19:9
    Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, "Behold, he has set out to fight against you." So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 30:4
    For though his officials are at Zoan and his envoys reach Hanes.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 18:7
    At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.
  5. Cross References
    2 Samuel 8:2
    And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 5:26
    He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 11:4
    The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord 's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 31:3
    Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds.
    Ezekiel 31:12 - 13
    Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it.
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 18:5
    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.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 68:31
    Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 18:2
    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.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 25:10
    For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.
  13. Cross References
    2 Samuel 7:13
    He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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