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18. Prophecy Against Cush

¹ Woe to the land of whirring wings Or of locusts
along the rivers of Cush, That is, the upper Nile region
² which sends envoys by sea
in papyrus boats over the water.

   Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,
   to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
   whose land is divided by rivers.

    ³ All you people of the world,
   you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains,
   you will see it,
and when a trumpet sounds,
   you will hear it.
⁴ This is what the LORD says to me:
   “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
   like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
⁵ For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
   and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
   and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
⁶ They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
   and to the wild animals;
the birds will feed on them all summer,
   the wild animals all winter.

⁷ At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty

   from a people tall and smooth-skinned,
   from a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
   whose land is divided by rivers—

the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.

3. All ye inhabitants of the world. He shews that this work of God will be so manifestly excellent as to draw the attention not only of the Jews but of all nations.

When he shall lift up an ensign on the mountains, you will see it. ¹⁷¹⁷ {Bogus footnote} These words, which are in the future tense, are rendered by some, agreeably to the custom of Scripture, in the imperative mood; ¹⁸¹⁸ {Bogus footnote} but it is better to view them as denoting what is future. It is as if he had said that the most distant nations will be witnesses of this destruction, because not only will the ensign be beheld by all, but the sound of the trumpets will be heard throughout the whole world. This will plainly shew that the war did not originate with men, but with God himself, who will prove himself to be the author of it by remarkable tokens. When wars are carried on, every one sees clearly what is done; but the greater part of men ascribe the beginning and end of them to chance. On the other hand, Isaiah shews that all these things ought to be ascribed to God, because he will display his power in a new and extraordinary manner; for sometimes he works so as to conceal his hand and to prevent his work from being perceived by men, but sometimes he displays his hand in such a manner that all are constrained to acknowledge it; and that is what the Prophet meant.