Read Isaiah chapter 18 (Contemporary English Version) on maBible, the Bible online. In this chapter: Ethiopia Will Be Punished.
Ethiopia Will Be Punished
1 Downstream from Ethiopia
lies the country of Egypt,
swarming with insects.
2 Egypt sends messengers
up the Nile River
on ships made of reeds.
Send them fast to Ethiopia,
whose people are tall
and have smooth skin.
Their land is divided by rivers;
they are strong and brutal,
feared all over the world.
3 Everyone on this earth,
listen with care!
A signal will be given
on the mountains,
and you will hear a trumpet.
4 The Lord said to me,
“I will calmly look down
from my home above—
as calmly as the sun at noon
or clouds in the heat
of harvest season.”
5 Before the blossoms
can turn into grapes,
God will cut off the sprouts
and hack off the branches.
6 Ethiopians will be food
for mountain vultures
during the summer
and for wild animals
during the winter.
7 Those Ethiopians are tall and their skin is smooth. They are feared all over the world, because they are strong and brutal. But at that time they will come from their land divided by rivers, and they will bring gifts to the Lord All-Powerful, who is worshiped on Mount Zion.
Chapter themes
Malheur à ce pays — pays
À l'ombre des ailes — des grillons ailés
Au-delà des fleuves d'Éthiopie — situé de l'autre côté des fleuves de l'Ethiopie
Des messagers envoyés — toi qui envoies des messagers par mer
Un peuple redouté — le peuple redouté bien au-delà de ses frontières
Un pays de fleuves — dont le territoire est traversé par des fleuves
Appel à toute la terre — Vous tous, habitants du monde, vous qui peuplez la terre
L'étendard et la trompette — lorsque l'étendard sera dressé sur les montagnes, regardez! Lorsque la trompette sonnera, écoutez!
Dieu reste tranquille — rester tranquille
Regarder de sa place — regarder de ma place
Chaleur et rosée — pareil à la chaleur des rayons du soleil
Des offrandes apportées — offrandes seront apportées
Sur le mont Sion — sur le mont Sion
Notes and references
18.1-7 Zep 2.12.
Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
insects: Or “sailing ships.”
reeds: Ancient Egypt was famous for the papyrus reeds that grew in the Nile Delta.
world: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 2.