Isaiah 18:1-6

1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,

2 that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, "Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!"

3 All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when He bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

4 For so the LORD said unto me: "I will take My rest, and I will consider in My dwelling place, like a clear heat upon herbs and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.

6 They shall be left together for the fowls of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth; and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

Isaiah 18:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 18

This chapter is a prophecy of the desolation of a land or country, described by the wings with which it was shaded, and by the rivers by which it was situated, Isa 18:1 by its messengers and message to another nation, which is also described, Isa 18:2 all the nations of the world are called upon to observe the judgment about to be inflicted on it, Isa 18:3 and a promise is made, that at the same time God will take up his rest and dwelling among his own people, and refresh and protect them, Isa 18:4 and the time, and manner, and nature of the destruction of the people before threatened, are metaphorically expressed, Isa 18:5,6 and the issue of all will be the glory of God, since these people will be brought, in after times, as a present to him in Mount Zion, Isa 18:7.