--- title: "Isaiah 18 - Study King James Bible with calvins commentary on the bible" description: "Read Isaiah 18 with calvins commentary on the bible commentary. 1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon t" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18" --- [ Read](/kjv/isaiah/18)[ Commentary](/study/isaiah/18)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/isaiah/18) Audio 1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which *is* beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 2 That sendeth ambassadors 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 meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!*** 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. 4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, *and* like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.** 5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away *and* cut down the branches. 6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. 7 ¶ In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.* [Isaiah 17](/study/isaiah/17) [Isaiah 19](/study/isaiah/19) ## Commentary To verse 1 **1.***Woe to the land.* I cannot determine with certainty what is the nation of which Isaiah speaks, though he shews plainly that it bordered on *Ethiopia.* Some consider it to refer to the whole of Egypt; but this is a mistake, for in the next chapter he treats of Egypt separately, from which it is evident that the people here meant were distinct from the Egyptians. Some think that the Troglodytes are here meant, which does not appear to me to be probable, for they had no intercourse with other nations, because their language, as geographers tell us, was hissing and not speech; (12) but those who are mentioned evidently had intercourse and leagues with other nations. Still it is uncertain whether they leagued against the Jews or joined with the Egyptians in driving out the Assyrians. If they were avowed enemies to the Jews, Isaiah threatens punishment; but if they deceived them by false promises, he shews that nothing is to be expected from them, because by idle messages they will only protract the time. However that may be, from the neighboring nations to be mentioned in the next chapter, we may in part ascertain where they were situated, that is, not far from Egypt and Ethiopia: yet some may be disposed to view it as a description of that part of Ethiopia which lay on the sea-coast; for we shall afterwards see that the Assyrians were at war with the king of the Ethiopians. ([Isaiah 37:9](/kjv/isaiah/37/9).) When he says that that *land shadows with wings,* we learn from it that its sea was well supplied with harbours, so that it had many vessels sailing to it and was wealthy; for small and poor states could not maintain intercourse or traffic with foreign countries. He therefore means that they performed many voyages. (12) “The Ethiopian Troglodytes,” says Herodotus “are the swiftest of foot of all men of whom we have received any accounts. The Troglodytes feed on serpents, and lizards, and reptiles of that sort, and the language which they have adopted has no resemblance to any other, but they screech like bats. — *Herod.* 4:183. FT270 “In vessels of bulrushes.” — Eng. Ver. FT271 “Scattered and peeled, or, outspread and polished.” — Eng. Ver. FT272 “A nation meted out and trodden down.” Heb. “A nation of line, and line, and treading under foot.” — Eng. Ver. FT273 “A nation *meted out by line,* that is, utterly subdued. Heb. *Put under line and line,* to decide what part of them should be destroyed, and what saved by the conquerors. In this manner David is described, ([2 Samuel 8:2](/kjv/2-samuel/8/2),) as having dealt with the children of Moab. See [Lamentations 2:8](/kjv/lamentations/2/8). Such a nation might well deserve to be called *drawn out and pilled,* that is drawn through the fingers (or an instrument) like a willow, in order to be peeled and made fit for wicker work.” — *Stock.* FT274 “Videbitis.” “Vous le verrez.” FT275 “See ye.” “Hear ye.” — Eng. Ver. FT276 “And I will consider in my dwelling-place.” — Eng. Ver. “I will rest, and look round in my dwelling-place.” — *Stock.* FT277 “Like a clear heat upon herbs,” or “after rain” — Eng. Ver. FT278 *Like the clear heat at the coming of daylight.* The resting of Jehovah, hovering over the enemy till they are ripe for destruction, is here beautifully compared to the condensed gloom before daylight, which is wont to usher in a hot summer’s day, and to the sheet of dew that appears to hang over the ground in harvest time presently after sunset. עלי, (ă*lē,*) is here used for near the time of, as we say, against such a time. עלי אור, (ă*lēōr,*) prope lucem, adventante luce. — *Stock.* FT279 Rosenmüller takes notice of another reading supported by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, ביום קציר, (*bĕyōm kātzīr,*) “*at* the time of harvest,” instead of, בהם קציר, (*bĕhōm kātzīr,*) “in the heat of harvest,” but justly remarks that it makes no difference to the meaning. — *Ed.* FT280 “That is, their dead bodies.” — *Jarchi.* FT281 “To quit the metaphor, the flourishing leaders of a people, devoted by Jehovah to destruction, shall be cut off and trampled on. The people here spoken of are the Assyrians under Sennacherib.” — *Stock.* FT282 See vol. 1 p. 96 ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18","name":"Isaiah 18 - Study King James Bible with calvins commentary on the bible","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Isaiah 18 with calvins commentary on the bible commentary. 1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon t","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible","name":"calvins commentary on the bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah","name":"Isaiah"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/calvins-commentary-on-the-bible/isaiah/18","name":"18"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```