18 Woe, land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of ^[a](A)Cush,
² Which sends messengers 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 who inhabit the world, and live on earth,
As soon as a flag is raised on the mountains, ^(F)you will see it,
And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.

“I will quietly look ^[d]from My ^(G)dwelling place
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,
He will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
And remove and tear away the spreading branches.
⁶ They will be left together for mountain birds ^(K)of prey,
And for the animals of the earth;
And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,
And all the animals of the earth will spend harvest time on them.
⁷ At that time a gift of tribute will be brought to the Lord of armies
^[g]From a ^(L)people ^[h]tall and smooth,
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 the Lord of armies, to Mount Zion.

⁴ A sword will come upon Egypt,
And there will be trembling in ^[a]Cush;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They will ^(A)take away her ^[b]wealth,
And her foundations will be torn down.

⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Indeed, those who support ^(C)Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord God.
⁷ “They will be desolate
In the ^(D)midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
⁸ And they will ^(E)know that I am the Lord,
When I set a ^(F)fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.