Message to Ethiopia
18
Alas, oh land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of 1ACush,
Which sends envoys by the sea,
Even in Apapyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation 1Btall and smooth,
To a people Cfeared 2far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide.
AAll 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.
For thus the Lord has told me,
“I will look 1from My Adwelling place quietly
Like dazzling heat in the 2Bsunshine,
Like a cloud of Cdew in the heat of harvest.”
For Abefore the harvest, as soon as the bud 1blossoms
And the flower becomes a ripening grape,
Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives
And remove and cut away the spreading branches.
They 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.
At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hosts
1From 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 the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.
1 18:1 Or Ethiopia A 18:1 2 Kin 19:9; Is 20:3-5; Ezek 30:4, 5, 9; Zeph 2:12; 3:10 A 18:2 Ex 2:3 1 18:2 Lit drawn out B 18:2 Is 18:7 C 18:2 Gen 10:8, 9; 2 Chr 12:2-4; 14:9; 16:8 2 18:2 Lit from it and beyond A 18:3 Ps 49:1; Mic 1:2 B 18:3 Is 26:11 1 18:4 Lit in A 18:4 Is 26:21; Hos 5:15 2 18:4 Lit light B 18:4 2 Sam 23:4 C 18:4 Prov 19:12; Is 26:19; Hos 14:5 A 18:5 Is 17:10, 11; Ezek 17:6-10 1 18:5 Lit is finished A 18:6 Is 46:11; 56:9; Jer 7:33; Ezek 32:4-6; 39:17-20 1 18:7 So with some ancient versions and DSS; M.T. implies Consisting of a people A 18:7 Ps 68:31; Is 45:14; Zeph 3:10; Acts 8:27-38 2 18:7 Lit drawn out 3 18:7 Lit from it and beyond B 18:7 Zech 14:16, 17