Isaiah 18:1

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

Ru 2:12; 2Ki 19:9; Ps 17:8; Ps 36:7; Ps 57:1; Ps 61:4; Ps 63:7; Ps 91:4; Isa 20:3-6; Isa 30:2,3; Isa 31:1; Eze 30:4,5; Zep 2:12; Zep 3:10; Mt 23:37

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.

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.