18 Alas, O land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of ^[a](A)Ethiopia,
² Which sends envoys by the sea,
Even in ^(B)papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation ^[b](C)tall and smooth,
To a people ^(D)feared ^[c]far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide.
^3 (E)All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth,
As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, ^(F)you will see it,
And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.

“I will look ^[d]from My ^(G)dwelling place quietly
Like dazzling heat in the ^[e](H)sunshine,
Like a cloud of ^(I)dew in the heat of harvest.”
⁵ For ^(J)before the harvest, as soon as the bud ^[f]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.
⁶ They will be left together for mountain birds ^(K)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.
⁷ At that time a gift of homage will be brought to Yahweh of hosts
^[g]From a ^(L)people ^[h]tall and smooth,
Even from a people feared ^[i]far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the ^(M)place of the name of Yahweh of hosts, even Mount Zion.

⁴ A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in ^[a]Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They ^(A)take away her multitude,
And her foundations are pulled down.

“Indeed, those who support ^(C)Egypt will fall,
And the pride of her strength will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares Lord Yahweh.
⁷ “They will be desolate
In the ^(D)midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the cities laid waste.
⁸ And they will ^(E)know that I am Yahweh,
When I set a ^(F)fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.