The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, ¹  the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

biblegateway Isa 18:1

Alas, oh land of whirring wings Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush,

Ah! The land of buzzing insect wings beyond the rivers of Cush

How horrible it will be for the land of whirring wings which lies beyond the rivers of Sudan.

biblegateway Isa 18:1

Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush,

Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,

bibleoremus Isa 18:1

Ah, land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,

There is a land of sailing ships lying beyond the rivers of Cush;

biblegateway Isa 18:1

Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,

Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which [is] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:

biblegateway Isa 18:1

The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, ¹  the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

¹ sn The significance of the qualifying phrase “buzzing wings” is uncertain. Some suggest that the designation points to Cush as a land with many insects. Another possibility is that it refers to the swiftness with which this land’s messengers travel (v. 2a); they move over the sea as swiftly as an insect flies through the air. For a discussion of the options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:359-60.