Isa 18 | EE | STEP | Oh! There is a country where the ships seem to have wings. It is past the rivers of Cush.

Isaiah 18

Words about Cush

1 Oh! There is a country where the ships seem to have wings. It is past the rivers of Cush.

2 It is sending messages by people in boats that they made from papyrus. Their boats sail on the top of the waters. Go, take a message quickly. Go to a country where the people are tall. Those people’s skins are not hairy. Everyone, both near and far, is afraid of the people from that country. The country is very strong and rivers cut the land into parts. ^{▼▼18:2 There were two places called Cush 2700 years ago. One was near Ethiopia and the other place was near Iraq. Most Bible students think that here it means the place near Ethiopia. But we cannot be sure.}

3 Everybody who lives in the world and on the earth, listen to this. You will see a sign on the tops of the mountains. You will hear the sound of a trumpet.

4 This is what the LORD said to me. ‘I will watch quietly from my place. I will be as quiet as the heat that shines from the sun. I will be as quiet as the mist that rises at harvest.’

5 Then, before the harvest, the LORD will cut off the new parts of the plants. He will use a special knife. He will cut off the wide branches and he will take them away. He will do that after the flowers have gone. But he will do it before the fruit is ready for the harvest.

6 He will leave them all for the birds that catch small animals in the mountains. And they will eat them. He will leave them to the wild animals on the land. The birds will feed on them all the summer. And the wild animals will feed on them all the winter.

7 At that time, people brought gifts to the LORD of Many Armies. The people are tall and their skins are not hairy. Everyone both near and far is afraid of those people. The country is very strong, and rivers cut the land into parts. They will come to a place where the Name of the LORD of Many Armies is. It is a mountain called Zion.