Isaiah 32:13-14

32:13 Mourn ¹  over the land of my people,

which is overgrown with thorns and briers,

and over all the once-happy houses ² 

in the city filled with revelry. ³ 

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded ⁴  city is abandoned.

Hill ⁵  and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited. ⁶ 

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 9:11

9:11 The Lord said, ⁸ 

“I will make Jerusalem ⁹  a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ¹⁰ 

I will destroy the towns of Judah

so that no one will be able to live in them.”

¹ tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.

² tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.

³ sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.

⁴ tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).

⁵ tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.

⁶ tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.

⁷ tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”

⁸ tn The words “the Lord said” are not in the text, but it is obvious from the content that he is the speaker. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁰ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”