Isaiah 13:21

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ¹  houses will be full of hyenas. ² 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ³ 

Isaiah 23:13

23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,

these people who have lost their identity! ⁴ 

The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.

They erected their siege towers, ⁵ 

demolished ⁶  its fortresses,

and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁷ 

Isaiah 34:14

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ⁸ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ⁹ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ¹⁰  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ¹¹ 

[13:21]  ¹ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ² tn The precise referent of this word in uncertain. See HALOT 29 s.v. *אֹחַ. Various English versions translate as “owls” (e.g., NAB, NASB), “wild dogs” (NCV); “jackals” (NIV); “howling creatures” (NRSV, NLT).

[13:21]  ³ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[23:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”

[23:13]  ⁵ tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.

[23:13]  ⁶ tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.

[23:13]  ⁷ sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.

[34:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”

[34:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”