Isaiah 18
A Message to Ethiopia
18Alas, O land of whirring wingsWhich lies beyond the rivers of 1,aEthiopia,2Which sends envoys by the sea,Even in apapyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.Go, swift messengers, to a nation 1,btall and smooth,To a people cfeared 2far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nationWhose land the rivers divide.3aAll you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth,As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, byou will see it,And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.4For thus Yahweh has told me, “I will look 1from My adwelling place quietlyLike dazzling heat in the 2,bsunshine,Like a cloud of cdew in the heat of harvest.”
5For abefore the harvest, as soon as the bud 1blossomsAnd the flower becomes a ripening grape,Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knivesAnd remove and cut away the spreading branches.6They will be left together for mountain birds aof 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.7At that time a gift of homage will be brought to Yahweh of hosts1From a apeople 2tall and smooth,Even from a people feared 3far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nation,Whose land the rivers divide—To the bplace of the name of Yahweh of hosts, even Mount Zion.