The Meaning of Isaiah 18:1 Explained

Isaiah 18:1

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

YLT: Ho, land shadowed with wings, That is beyond the rivers of Cush,

Darby: Ha! land shadowing with wings, which art beyond the rivers of Cush,

ASV: Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Isaiah 18:1 Mean?

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 18

1  God, in care of his people, will destroy the Ethiopians
7  An accession thereby shall be made to the church

What do the individual words in Isaiah 18:1 mean?

Woe to the land shadowed with [buzzing] wings which [is] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
ה֥וֹי אֶ֖רֶץ צִלְצַ֣ל כְּנָפָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר מֵעֵ֖בֶר לְנַֽהֲרֵי־ כֽוּשׁ

ה֥וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
אֶ֖רֶץ  to  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
צִלְצַ֣ל  shadowed  with  [buzzing] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צְלָצַל 
Sense: whirring, buzzing.
כְּנָפָ֑יִם  wings 
Parse: Noun, md
Root: כָּנָף  
Sense: wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
מֵעֵ֖בֶר  beyond 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵבֶר  
Sense: region beyond or across, side.
לְנַֽהֲרֵי־  the  rivers 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
כֽוּשׁ  of  Ethiopia 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כּוּשׁ 
Sense: a Benjamite mentioned only in the title of Ps 7.