Discovery BoxIsaiah 34:11-13
Context34:11 Owls and wild animals 1 will live there, 2
all kinds of wild birds 3 will settle in it.
The Lord 4 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 5 of destruction. 6
34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear. 7
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 8 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 9
[34:11] 1 tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
[34:11] 2 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
[34:11] 3 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
[34:11] 4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:11] 5 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
[34:11] 6 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
[34:12] 7 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
[34:13] 8 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:13] 9 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
