Isaiah 18 · Verse 3

Isaiah 18:3

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.

Isaiah 18:3, King James Version

Isaiah 18:3 in other translations

BSB	All 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.
WEB	All you inhabitants of the world, and you dwellers on the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, look! When the trumpet is blown, listen!
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.
YLT	All ye inhabitants of the world, And ye dwellers of earth, At the lifting up of an ensign on hills ye look, And at the blowing of a trumpet ye hear.
DARBY	All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, see ye, and when a trumpet is blown, hear ye!
BBE	All you peoples of the world, and you who are living on the earth, when a flag is lifted up on the mountains, give attention; and when the horn is sounded, give ear.
Webster	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.

What does Isaiah 18:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

3. see ye ... hear ye--rather, "ye shall see ... shall hear." Call to the whole earth to be witnesses of what Jehovah ("He") is about to do. He will "lift up an ensign," calling the Assyrian motley hosts together (Is 5:26) on "the mountains" round Jerusalem, to their own destruction. This (the eighteenth chapter) declares the coming overthrow of those armies whose presence is announced in Is 17:12, 13. The same motive, which led Hezekiah to seek aid from Egypt, led him to accept gladly the Ethiopian Tirhakah's aid (Is 36:6; 37:9). 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 3 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

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Isaiah 18:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כָּל\־kol-O allH3605

יֹשְׁבֵ֥יyo.she.Vei[the] inhabitants ofH3427

תֵבֵ֖לte.Vel[the] worldH8398

וְשֹׁ֣כְנֵיve.Sho.khe.neiand [those who] dwellH7931

אָ֑רֶץ'A.retz<of> earthH776

כִּנְשֹׂא\־kin.so'-when lifts upH5375

נֵ֤סnesa standardH5251

הָרִים֙ha.RimmountainsH2022

תִּרְא֔וּtir.'Uyou will see [it]H7200

וְכִתְקֹ֥עַve.khit.Ko.a'and just as soundsH8628

שׁוֹפָ֖רsho.Fara trumpetH7782

תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ\׃\ \סtish.Ma.'uyou will hear [it]H8085

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 18:3

Isaiah 5:26
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
Matthew 13:16
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Isaiah 26:11
Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
Micah 6:9
The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
Matthew 13:9
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Isaiah 13:2
Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
Psalms 49:1-2
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
Amos 3:6-8
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
Isaiah 13:4
The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
Jeremiah 22:29
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.
Isaiah 1:2
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Psalms 50:1
A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

All ye.
1:2; Ps 49:1,2; 50:1; Jer 22:29; Mic 6:2
see ye.
5:26; 7:18; 13:2,4; 26:11; Am 3:6-8; Mic 6:9; Zec 9:14; Mt 13:9,16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 18:2
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!
Isaiah 18:3
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.
Isaiah 18:4
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.

Read all of Isaiah 18

Isaiah 18:3 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Vosotros, todos los moradores del mundo y habitantes de la tierra, cuando levantará bandera en los montes, la veréis; y oiréis cuando tocará trompeta.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Vous tous, habitants du monde, et vous qui demeurez sur la terre, quand l’étendard sera élevé sur les montagnes, voyez; et quand la trompette sonnera, écoutez!
German Elberfelder 1871	Ihr alle, Bewohner des Erdkreises und die ihr auf der Erde ansässig seid, wenn man ein Panier auf den Bergen erhebt, so sehet hin; und wenn man in die Posaune stößt, so höret!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Omnes habitatores orbis, qui moramini in terra, cum elevatum fuerit signum in montibus, videbitis, et clangorem tubæ audietis.