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.

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters,'saying , Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide!

Douay-Rheims Bible
That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, and in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters. Go, ye swift angels, to a nation rent and torn in pieces: to a terrible people, after which there is no other: to a nation expecting and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled.

Darby Bible Translation
that sendest ambassadors over the sea, and in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, swift messengers, to a nation scattered and ravaged, to a people terrible from their existence and thenceforth; to a nation of continued waiting and of treading down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

English Revised Version
that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward; a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide!

Webster's Bible Translation
That sendeth embassadors 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 measured by line and trodden down, whose land the rivers have laid waste.

World English Bible
that sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus on the waters, saying, "Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation that measures out and treads down, whose land the rivers divide!"

Young's Literal Translation
That is sending by sea ambassadors, Even with implements of reed on the face of the waters, -- Go, ye light messengers, Unto a nation drawn out and peeled, Unto a people fearful from its beginning and onwards, A nation meeting out by line, and treading down, Whose land floods have spoiled.The Christians' Call to the Gypies. --Isa. xviii. 7
The Christians' Call to the Gypies.--Isa. xviii. 7. Christians. Gypsies. Christians. Gypsies. Christians and Gypsies. Strangers, whence came ye to the West; Are ye the offspring of the sun, That from his rising to his rest, Through every clime he shines on, run? So bright of eye, so dark of hue, Surely your sire hath look'd on you. Of higher lineage than the sun, (But where our birthplace none can show,) His track in heaven, on earth we run, From where the waves of Ganges flow, Or Nile's mysterious …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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