Isaiah 18

An Oracle Concerning Cush

1Ah, land of whirring wings,
beyond the rivers of Cush, 2sending envoys by water,
in papyrus boats over the waters!
Go, swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared near and far,
a powerful, trampling nation
whose land the rivers divide. 3All who inhabit the world,
all who dwell on earth:
when a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a horn is sounded, listen! 4For the LORD told me:
“I will remain still and watch from my dwelling,
like clear heat in sunlight,
like a cloud of dew in harvest heat.”

5Before harvest, when flowering ends
and blossoms become ripening grapes,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning hooks,
remove and slash the spreading branches. 6They will all be left
for mountain birds of prey and wild animals.
The birds will summer on them;
the wild animals will winter on them. 7At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth-skinned, a people feared near and far, a powerful, trampling nation whose land the rivers divide—to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts.