A Prophecy regarding Cush

¹Ah, the land of whirring wings,[#18:1 Or “locusts.”]

that is beyond the rivers of Cush,

²sending their messengers by the way of the Nile

in papyrus vessels gliding on the water!

Go, you swift messengers,

to a tall, smooth-skinned people feared far and wide,

to a mighty conquering nation whose land the rivers divide.

³Everyone everywhere, all who dwell on the earth,

when a signal flag is raised on the mountain, take notice!

When the shofar is blown, listen!

⁴Here is what the Lord Yahweh said to me:

“I will rest calm and confident as I look from my dwelling place,

serene as on a pleasant summer day

or as a cool, refreshing cloud in the heat of harvest.”

⁵Before the harvest, when the bud is ripening

and the flower finishes, he will take his pruning hooks

and cut off the shoots and remove them.

⁶They will all be left for the birds of prey on the mountains

and for the wild animals to devour .

Birds will eat them throughout the summer,

and the animals will gnaw on the bones of the fallen all winter.

⁷At that time, a tall, smooth-skinned people will bring gifts of tribute[#18:7 See Pss. 68:28–29; 76:11; Matt. 2:11.]

to the Lord Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies.

They are a people feared far and wide,

a mighty conquering nation whose land the rivers divide.

They will bring their gifts to Mount Zion,

the place of the name of the Lord Yahweh ,

Commander of Angel Armies.