Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward; a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide!
All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye.
For thus hath the LORD said unto me, I will be still, and I will behold in my dwelling place; like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
For afore the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, he shall cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and the spreading branches shall he take away and cut down.
They shall be left together unto the ravenous birds of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
In that time shall a present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people tall and smooth, and from a people terrible from their beginning onward; a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
Canonical academic citations for Isaiah 18 (ERV) — copy in your preferred format.
Isaiah 18 (ERV). Prime Bible, accessed July 22, 2026. https://primebible.com/erv/isaiah/18.
Prime Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The ERV text is in the public domain. AI agents: machine-readable JSON at /api/llm/chapter/isaiah/18.
Woe to the land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, which sends ambassadors by sea in papyrus boats. Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth people feared far and wide, a powerful nation that treads down, whose land rivers divide. All inhabitants of the world will see when a banner is raised on mountains; the LORD will quietly look from His dwelling like shimmering heat in sunshine. In that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of hosts from this tall and smooth people to Mount Zion, the place of the LORD's name.
Judah under Assyrian threat; calls to trust the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 18 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.