הוֹי אֶרֶץ צִלְצַל כְּנָפָיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעֵבֶר לְנַהֲרֵי כוּשׁ

Woe! The land of the shadow of wings, a land with wings that form a shadow, or: The land with wings that make a sound. The significance of this image is unclear, but since the coming verses indicate that this prophecy relates to a nation of seafarers, perhaps the wings are the sails of the boats. It is a land which is beyond the rivers of Kush, the great rivers of Egypt.

הַשֹּׁלֵחַ בַּיָּם צִירִים וּבִכְלֵי גֹמֶא עַל פְּנֵי מַיִם לְכוּ מַלְאָכִים קַלִּים אֶל גּוֹי מְמֻשָּׁךְ וּמוֹרָט אֶל עַם נוֹרָא מִן הוּא וָהָלְאָה גּוֹי קַו קָו וּמְבוּסָה אֲשֶׁר בָּזְאוּ נְהָרִים אַרְצוֹ

This land belongs to a nation that sends emissaries by sea, messengers who travel in ships and in light papyrusvessels on the water. Perhaps this nation resided near the sources of the Nile. In any case, the senders give the following instruction to the seamen: Go, swift messengers, to a nation that has been dragged and plucked, to a people who has undergone awful experiences, from its inception onward, a nation of laws and regulations, and which has suffered defeat, that rivers divide [bazu] its land. Many commentaries explain that this verse compares the plundering invaders [bozezim] to rivers flowing through the raided country.

כָּל יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל וְשֹׁכְנֵי אָרֶץ כִּנְשֹׂא נֵס הָרִים תִּרְאוּ וְכִתְקֹעַ שׁוֹפָר תִּשְׁמָעוּ

These emissaries will come from the ends of the earth to announce forthcoming events: All inhabitants of the world and dwellers of the earth: When a banner is raised on the top of the mountains, so that it can be observed from a great distance, you will see; and with the sounding of the shofar you will hear.

כִּי כֹה אָמַר ה' אֵלַי אֶשְׁקֳטָה וְאַבִּיטָה בִמְכוֹנִי כְּחֹם צַח עֲלֵי אוֹר כְּעָב טַל בְּחֹם קָצִיר

For so the Lord said to me: I will be calm, and I will look alone, quietly on My abode, observing the unfolding events, which are like clear light during the heat that comes after rain, or like a dew cloud in the heat of harvest. Heat and light together with clouds and rain during the harvest period are unusual phenomena, signifying a reversal that brings about repair.

כִּי לִפְנֵי קָצִיר כְּתָם פֶּרַח ובֹסֶר גֹּמֵל יִהְיֶה נִצָּה וְכָרַת הַזַּלְזַלִּים בַּמַּזְמֵרוֹת וְאֶת הַנְּטִישׁוֹת הֵסִיר הֵתַז

For before harvest arrives, when the blossoming is over, and the bud becomes a ripening grape, as it develops in anticipation of the ripening of the fruit, before the growth is complete, He will cut off the thin branches with pruning hooks, and remove and lop off the long, thick branches. In other words, a great slaughter will occur quickly.

יֵעָזְבוּ יַחְדָּו לְעֵיט הָרִים וּלְבֶהֱמַת הָאָרֶץ וְקָץ עָלָיו הָעַיִט וְכָל בֶּהֱמַת הָאָרֶץ עָלָיו תֶּחֱרָף

The verse turns from metaphor to a concrete description of impending events. They, the numerous dead, will be left together for the raptors of the mountains, and for the animals of the earth, which will eat the corpses. And the raptor will summer upon them, and all the animals of the earth will winter upon them. There will be so many corpses that birds of prey will be able to eat from them for an entire summer, and animals throughout the winter.

בָּעֵת הַהִיא יוּבַל שַׁי לַה' צְבָאוֹת עַם מְמֻשָּׁךְ וּמוֹרָט וּמֵעַם נוֹרָא מִן הוּא וָהָלְאָה גּוֹי קַו קָו וּמְבוּסָה אֲשֶׁר בָּזְאוּ נְהָרִים אַרְצוֹ אֶל מְקוֹם שֵׁם ה' צְבָאוֹת הַר צִיּוֹן

At that time, a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people dragged and plucked, from a people awful from its inception onward, a nation of laws and defeat, that rivers divide its land. Those nations that were cleansed by suffering, that had maintained a framework of laws, and that had experienced appalling downfalls, will then come to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, which they will know is Mount Zion, and there they will bring their gifts to the Lord.