Isaiah 18:3
in Isaiah 18All you people of the world and dwellers of the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it; when a ram’s horn sounds, you will hear it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 18
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
All ye inhabitants of the world - These are to be regarded as the words of the prophet summoning all nations to attend to that which was about to occur. Grotius, however, and some others, suppose that they are the words of the Ethiopians. The meaning is, that the events which are here predicted would be of so public a nature as to attract the attention of all the world. When he - Vitringa supposes that this means the Assyrians lifting up a standard on the mountains of Judea.
This site's exposition
Woe to the land of whirring wings
on Isaiah 18:1-3
The oracle addresses "the land of whirring wings", "along the rivers of Cush", which Gill and Barnes connect with the insects of the Nile. It "sends couriers by sea, in papyrus vessels", and the text names no king or battle as the Damascus and Moab oracles do.
This site's exposition
when a banner is raised on the mountains
Clarke takes the LORD as the one who lifts the banner over the mountains and blows the horn, the signal of the fall of Sennacherib. Barnes hears the prophet calling every nation of the world to look. No people on earth would miss it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 3.) All the inhabitants of the world who dwell on the earth, when the signal is raised on the mountains, you will see and hear the sound of the trumpet. All the nations, he says, around, when you hear my command, like a signal raised on the mountains, and my authority, like the sound of a triumphantly resounding trumpet, then you will see what I have ordered.
(Verse 3) Therefore, all who dwell and live in the world, lift up their eyes to the sign of the heretics, which is raised as if on mountains, and they hear the sound of the trumpet, that is, their teaching.
(Verse 3) Truly a people without hope, and oppressed, whose rivers throughout the whole earth imitate the dwelling of the Church, so that they may find for themselves a home and a region, in which they may raise the sign of their teaching, in which they may sound the trumpet of the Scriptures.
The Medieval Church1 voice
All you inhabitants of the world. Here he threatens the punishment, and concerning this, he does two things. First, he shows the manifestation of the punishment: you shall see, that is, it will be known to you, the sign, the flag of Nabuchodonosor: the nations …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When - When God shall gather together the nations, as it were by the lifting up of an ensign, or by the sound of a trumpet, to execute his judgments upon this people.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth,....
The Ethiopians and Assyrians have their counsels and designs, which they have laid deep, and promise themselves much from, and, in prosecution of them, send their ambassadors and messengers from place to place; but let us now enquire what the great God says to all this.
He gives notice that he is about to do some great work, as Lord of hosts. All the world is bidden to take notice of it; all the dwellers on earth must see the ensign and hear the trumpet, must observe the motions of the divine providence and attend the directions of the divine will.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ethiopia, Egypt, and Judea were probably leagued together against the common enemy, 713 B.C. See notes on the twenty-second chapter, where a difference of tone (as referring to a different period) as to Ethiopia is observable. HORSLEY takes the "ensign" to be the cross, and the "trumpet" the Gospel trumpet, which shall be sounded more loudly in the last days.
When he lifteth up an ensign “When the standard is lifted up” - I take God to be the Agent in this verse; and that by the standard and the trumpet are meant the meteors, the thunder, the lightning, the storm, earthquake, and tempest, by which Sennacherib’s army shall be destroyed, or by which at least the destruction of it shall be accompanied; as it is described in Isa 10:16, Isa 10:17; Isa 29:6, and Isa 30:30, Isa 30:31. See also Psa 76:1-12 (note), and the title of it, according to the Septuagint, Vulgate and Aethiopic. They are called, by a bold metaphor, the standard lifted up, and the trumpet sounded. The latter is used by Homer, I think with great force, in his introduction to the battle of the gods; though I find it has disgusted some of the minor critics: - Βραχε δ’ ευρεια χθων, Αμφι δε σαλπιγζεν μεγας ουρανος. Il. 21:388. “Heaven in loud thunders bids the trumpet sound, And wide beneath them groans the rending ground.” Pope
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
All inhabitants of the world, etc. You need not send messengers for this, for when a standard of the mountains is raised, you shall see the ingathering of the exiles, and when a shofar is sounded you shall hear.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Go swift messengers to see whether it is true that the Israelites have returned to their place, a nation which is pulled and torn, to a people that is awesome from its inception.
I will rest from paying Esau his just deserts; I will turn away from all My affairs and I will look down upon My dwelling-place to do good to it.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | O all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| תֵבֵ֖ל | tevel | [the] world | H8398 → | 36 times |
| וְשֹׁ֣כְנֵי | veshokhenei | and [those who] dwell | H7931 → | 129 times |
| אָ֑רֶץ | ʾaretz | <of> earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּנְשֹׂא־ | kinso'- | when lifts up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נֵ֤ס | nes | a standard | H5251 → | 21 times |
| הָרִים֙ | harim | mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| תִּרְא֔וּ | tiru | you will see [it] | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְכִתְקֹ֥עַ | vekhitkoa' | and just as sounds | H8628 → | 69 times |
| שׁוֹפָ֖ר | shofar | a trumpet | H7782 → | 72 times |
| תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ׃ ס | tishmau | you will hear [it] | H8085 → | 1159 times |
כָּל־O all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
תֵבֵ֖ל[the] world
tevelH8398 →36 times
וְשֹׁ֣כְנֵיand [those who] dwell
veshokheneiH7931 →129 times
אָ֑רֶץ<of> earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
כִּנְשֹׂא־when lifts up
kinso'-H5375 →656 times
נֵ֤סa standard
nesH5251 →21 times
הָרִים֙mountains
harimH2022 →546 times
תִּרְא֔וּyou will see [it]
tiruH7200 →1300 times
וְכִתְקֹ֥עַand just as sounds
vekhitkoa'H8628 →69 times
שׁוֹפָ֖רa trumpet
shofarH7782 →72 times
תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ׃ סyou will hear [it]
tishmauH8085 →1159 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 13:16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
it leads to
- Luke 10:23–24
Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
- Ephesians 1:17–18
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
- Matthew 16:17
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
- John 20:29
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
- Luke 10:23–24
Through
Isaiah 1:2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
- Micah 1:2
Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Through
Psalms 50:1The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.
it leads to
- Psalms 113:3
From where the sun rises to where it sets, the name of the LORD is praised.
- Psalms 113:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.