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ISAIAH 18
PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| Message to Ethiopia | Proclamation Against Ethiopia | Concerning Ethiopia | God Will Punish Ethiopia | Against Cush |
| 18:1-7 (1-7) |
18:1-2 (1-2) |
18:1-2 (1-2) |
18:1-2 | 18:1-6 (1-6) |
| 18:3 (3) |
18:3-6 (3-6) |
18:3-6 | ||
| 18:4-6 (4-6) |
||||
| 18:7 | 18:7 | 18:7 | 18:7 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which
means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the
light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 18:1-7
1Alas, oh land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush,
2Which sends envoys by the sea,
Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth,
To a people feared far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide.
3All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth,
As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it,
And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.
4For thus the Lord has told me,
"I will look from My dwelling place quietly
Like dazzling heat in the sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
5For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms
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.
6They will be left together for mountain birds of 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.
7At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hosts
From a people tall and smooth,
Even from a people feared far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation,
Whose land the rivers divide -
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.
| 18:1 | |
| NASB | "Alas" |
| NKJV, Peshitta | "woe" |
| NRSV, JPSOA, LXX | "Ah" |
This INTERJECTION (BDB 222) is used often in the prophets (i.e., Isa. 1:4,24; 5:8,11,18,20,21,22; 10:1,5; 17:12; 18:1; 28:1; 29:1,15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9; 55:1). Mostly it expresses a negative reaction to the coming pain of divine judgment. However, in some contexts it denotes sympathy or pity, as in Isa. 18:1; 55:1; Jer. 47:6.
| NASB, NKJV | "land of whirring wings" |
| NKJV | "the land shadowed with buzzing wings" |
| TEV | "a land where the sound of wings is hears" |
| NJB | "Land of the whirring locust" |
| LXX | "wings of a land of ships" |
| Peshitta | "the land of shadowing wings" |
| REB | "a land of sailing ships" (from Arabic and Aramaic cognates, Targums, and LXX |
| Jpsoa | "land of the deep shadow of wings" |
This root (צלצל, BDB 852) has several possible meanings.
| NASB, MT, NJB, REB | "Cush" |
| NKJV, LXX, Peshitta | "Ethiopia" |
| NRSV footnote, JPSOA | "Nubia" |
This refers to the land area south of the first cataract of the Nile. It was known in Genesis as "Cush" (BDB 468, cf. Gen. 2:13; 10:6,7,8). In the Greek period it was called "Ethiopia." Today it would include the Sudan and parts of modern Ethiopia (TEV footnote, p. 625).
In this context (i.e., Isaiah 19), it may refer to the 25th Dynasty of Nubian rulers of Egypt (i.e., Pianchia, Shabaka).
However, notice that the people addressed are "beyond the rivers of Cush." Maybe Egypt herself is looking for mercenaries!
18:2 "papyrus vessels" At first one would think this must refer to sailing vessels on the Nile, but these same kinds of boats also were used on the Tigris and Euphrates (cf. James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 2560
▣ "Go" This is a Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 229, KB 246). To whom is this addressed?
Isaiah regularly switches from a historical setting or event to an eschatological setting. The events and crises of his day foreshadow the events of the climatic conclusion of history. This fluidity is difficult to lock down into one historical referent (time, place, people). Cosmic consequences and purposes are at work behind existential events (i.e., Daniel 10).
▣ This verse characterizes the nation.
Numbers 2-6 are repeated in Isa. 18:7. This description fits the people south of the first cataract of the Nile, a tall, dark, warlike people group.
However, this context could be understood as Egypt seeking military alliances against Assyria. The term translated "tall" is never translated this way anywhere else. The universal ring of Isa. 18:3 could turn this poem into a message from YHWH that there is no one who can save a nation from His judgment. Egypt herself, nor any other notorious warlike people, can help Judah (cf. Isaiah 7), only YHWH.
Contextually the question
| NASB | "a powerful and oppressive nation" |
| NKJV | "a nation powerful and treading down" |
| NRSV | "a nation mighty and conquering" |
| TEV | "a strong and powerful nation" |
| JPSOA | "a nation of gibber and chatter" |
| LXX | "a foreign and fierce people" |
The LXX and Peshitta translate this text as addressing a defeated nation, but this is not followed by modern translations.
There are two descriptive NOUNS used of these people.
18:3 "All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth" Isaiah has addressed this larger group several times (cf. Isa. 2:2-4; 9:7; 11:10,11-12; 12:4-6; 17:7-8; 26:9). What happens to YHWH's covenant people affects all nations. The term can refer to worldwide redemption or judgment (cf. Isa. 13:11; 24:4; 34:1). In a sense, the use of this term "world" (BDB 385) shows YHWH's universal significance, power, and presence, as does the literary unit of judgment on the surrounding nations. YHWH's acts affect all the earth. He is the Lord of creation!
Who sends the message of Isa. 18:3 and to whom is it addressed?
Thus we see again the ambiguous, yet powerful, imagery of Hebrew poetry.
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
▣ These were means of communicating in battle (i.e., raised standard and trumpet). These symbols could be for
How wonderfully this little poem depicts the chaos of earth vs. the tranquility of heaven, as well as what looked like a judgment becomes an invitation (i.e., Isa. 2:2-4; 11:10; 49:6; 51:4-8).
18:4 "For thus the Lord has told me" This is another specific reference to Isaiah's claim of inspiration. His message was not his own, but YHWH's! This is the issue of biblical authority! Has God spoken? Can we understand it? Can we trust it? These are foundational questions that must be answered by everyone and anyone who comes in contact with the Bible. See the sermons "The Trustworthiness of the Old Testament" and "The Trustworthiness of the New Testament" online at www.freebiblecommentary.org. The video links are in the opening paragraph on the home page.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE BIBLE (its uniqueness and inspiration)
▣ Lines 2-4 describe God's message to Cush or to Assyria. He speaks securely (two COHORTATIVES) from
In the book of Isaiah Jerusalem will never be taken. This verse may reflect that theology. The world may be at war (Isa. 18:3), but Judah is secure in YHWH's security (i.e., Isa. 7:4; 8:8). Judah need not form an alliance with Syria/Israel or Egypt. Assyria will be totally defeated.
YHWH's security, tranquility, and peace in heaven are contrasted with the chaos on earth. This is very similar to the literary structure of the NT book of Revelation, where chaos on earth is described in chapters 2-3, but the heavenly throne room is quiet and peaceful in Isaiah 4-5! History is not a flux, but a means to a teleological climax designed and orchestrated by God!
SPECIAL TOPIC: ARK OF THE COVENANT
SPECIAL TOPIC: HEAVENS AND THE THIRD HEAVEN
18:5 YHWH's message of judgment is given in agricultural imagery, which is so common in Isaiah. A lost harvest would devastate those who depended on annual food crops.
This is imagery of rapid judgment (cf. Isa. 17:14).
18:6 The death of the human population will become a banquet for the birds of prey and wild beasts (cf. Isa. 56:9; Jer. 7:33; Ezek. 32:4-6; 39:17-20).
18:7 A time is coming when the remnant of these people (or possibly the whole Gentile world) will send another message, but this time not a threat (cf. Isa. 18:3), but an offering to YHWH in Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 18:7, line 6). The gift would be a cultural/religious symbol acknowledging YHWH's lordship and reign. The enemies of Isa. 18:1-2 are now worshipers! This is the fulfillment of Gen. 3:15. The redemptive purpose is wider than Abraham's physical seed. It encompasses his spiritual seed (cf. Isa. 12:4-5; 25:6-9; 42:6-12; 45:22-23; 49:5-6; 51:4-5; 60:1-3; 66:23; Rom. 2:28-29)!
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN)
| NASB, NKJV, NRSV, REB, LXX | "from" |
| NJB | "on behalf of" |
The MT has the NOUN "people" (BDB 766 I), but no PREPOSITION. Possibly the people themselves are the offering.
The DSS and Septuagint and Vulgate have the preposition "from."
▣ "a people" The NASB gives several descriptive terms to characterize this nation.
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