Isaiah 34:11-13

34:11 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 (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)