Isaiah 18

1Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;

1Watch out, you land of buzzing wings, which lies beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.

2that 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!

2That land sends messengers across the sea in boats made of papyrus reeds. Go, you fast messengers, to a people who are tall and have smooth skin, to a people feared far and wide—a powerful nation that conquers others, whose land is divided by rivers.

3All 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.

3Everyone living in the world, all you who dwell on the earth: when a signal flag is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet sounds, listen!

4For 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.

4For this is what the Lord told me: 'I will remain quiet and watch from where I live, as calm as glowing heat in the sunshine or a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest time.'

5For 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.

5Before the harvest, when the blooming is finished and the flower turns into a ripening grape, he will cut off the new shoots with pruning knives and chop down the spreading branches.

6They 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.

6They will all be left for the mountain birds of prey and the wild animals. The birds will feed on them during the summer, and all the wild animals will stay there through the winter.

7In 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.

7At that time, gifts will be brought to the Lord of Armies from a people who are tall and have smooth skin—a people feared far and wide, a powerful nation that conquers others, whose land is divided by rivers. They will bring these gifts to Mount Zion, the place where the Lord of Armies is worshiped.