Discovery BoxJeremiah 49:17-18
Context49:17 “Edom will become an object of horror.
All who pass by it will be filled with horror;
they will hiss out their scorn
because of all the disasters that have happened to it. 1
49:18 Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah
and the towns that were around them.
No one will live there.
No human being will settle in it,”
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:11
Context“I will make Jerusalem 3 a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there. 4
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.”
Jeremiah 10:22
Context10:22 Listen! News is coming even now. 5
The rumble of a great army is heard approaching 6 from a land in the north. 7
It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble,
places where only jackals live.
Jeremiah 50:39-40
Context50:39 Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there.
Ostriches 8 will dwell in it too. 9
But no people will ever live there again.
No one will dwell there for all time to come. 10
50:40 I will destroy Babylonia just like I did
Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns.
No one will live there. 11
No human being will settle in it,”
says the Lord. 12
Jeremiah 51:37
Context51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there. 13
It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,
a place where no one lives. 14
Isaiah 13:20-22
Context13:20 No one will live there again;
no one will ever reside there again. 15
No bedouin 16 will camp 17 there,
no shepherds will rest their flocks 18 there.
13:21 Wild animals will rest there,
the ruined 19 houses will be full of hyenas. 20
Ostriches will live there,
wild goats will skip among the ruins. 21
13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,
jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. 22
Her time is almost up, 23
her days will not be prolonged. 24
Isaiah 14:23
Context14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals 25
and covered with pools of stagnant water.
I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” 26
says the Lord who commands armies.
Isaiah 34:9-17
Context34:9 Edom’s 27 streams will be turned into pitch
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
34:10 Night and day it will burn; 28
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland
and no one will ever pass through it again.
34:11 Owls and wild animals 29 will live there, 30
all kinds of wild birds 31 will settle in it.
The Lord 32 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 33 of destruction. 34
34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear. 35
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 36 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 37
34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; 38
wild goats will bleat to one another. 39
Yes, nocturnal animals 40 will rest there
and make for themselves a nest. 41
34:15 Owls 42 will make nests and lay eggs 43 there;
they will hatch them and protect them. 44
Yes, hawks 45 will gather there,
each with its mate.
34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! 46
Not one of these creatures will be missing, 47
none will lack a mate. 48
For the Lord has issued the decree, 49
and his own spirit gathers them. 50
34:17 He assigns them their allotment; 51
he measures out their assigned place. 52
They will live there 53 permanently;
they will settle in it through successive generations.
Zephaniah 2:9
Context2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,
“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.
They will be overrun by weeds, 54
filled with salt pits, 55
and permanently desolate.
Those of my people who are left 56 will plunder their belongings; 57
those who are left in Judah 58 will take possession of their land.”
Zephaniah 2:13-15
Context2:13 The Lord 59 will attack the north 60
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;
it will be as barren 61 as the desert.
2:14 Flocks and herds 62 will lie down in the middle of it,
as well as every kind of wild animal. 63
Owls 64 will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;
they will hoot through the windows. 65
Rubble will cover the thresholds; 66
even the cedar work 67 will be exposed to the elements. 68
2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up 69 –
the city that was so secure. 70
She thought to herself, 71 “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” 72
What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!
Everyone who passes by her taunts her 73 and shakes his fist. 74
Malachi 1:3
Context1:3 and rejected Esau. 75 I turned Esau’s 76 mountains into a deserted wasteland 77 and gave his territory 78 to the wild jackals.”
Revelation 18:2
Context18:2 He 79 shouted with a powerful voice:
“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She 80 has become a lair for demons,
a haunt 81 for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. 82
Revelation 18:21-22
Context18:21 Then 83 one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force 84
Babylon the great city will be thrown down 85
and it will never be found again!
18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you 86 again.
No 87 craftsman 88 who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill 89 will never be heard in you again.
[49:17] 1 sn This verse is very similar to Jer 19:8 where the same judgment is pronounced on Jerusalem. For the meaning of some of the terms here (“hiss out their scorn” and “all the disasters that have happened to it”) see the notes on that verse.
[9:11] 2 tn The words “the
[9:11] 3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:11] 4 tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.”
[10:22] 5 tn Heb “The sound of a report, behold, it is coming.”
[10:22] 6 tn Heb “ coming, even a great quaking.”
[10:22] 7 sn Compare Jer 6:22.
[50:39] 8 tn The identification of this bird has been called into question by G. R. Driver, “Birds in the Old Testament,” PEQ 87 (1955): 137-38. He refers to this bird as an owl. That identification, however, is not reflected in any of the lexicons including the most recent, which still gives “ostrich” (HALOT 402 s.v. יַעֲנָה) as does W. S. McCullough, “Ostrich,” IDB 3:611. REB, NIV, NCV, and God’s Word all identify this bird as “owl/desert owl.”
[50:39] 9 tn Heb “Therefore desert creatures will live with jackals and ostriches will live in it.”
[50:39] 10 tn Heb “It will never again be inhabited nor dwelt in unto generation and generation.” For the meaning of this last phrase compare the usage in Ps 100:5 and Isaiah 13:20. Since the first half of the verse has spoken of animals living there, it is necessary to add “people” and turn the passive verbs into active ones.
[50:40] 11 tn Heb “‘Like [when] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns,’ oracle of the
[50:40] 12 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[51:37] 13 tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.
[51:37] 14 tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”
[13:20] 15 tn Heb “she will not be inhabited forever, and she will not be dwelt in to generation and generation (i.e., forever).” The Lord declares that Babylon, personified as a woman, will not be inhabited. In other words, her people will be destroyed and the Chaldean empire will come to a permanent end.
[13:20] 16 tn Or “Arab” (NAB, NASB, NIV); cf. CEV, NLT “nomads.”
[13:20] 17 tn יַהֵל (yahel) is probably a corrupted form of יֶאֱהַל (ye’ehal). See GKC 186 §68.k.
[13:20] 18 tn The words “their flocks” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text does not supply the object here, but see Jer 33:12.
[13:21] 19 tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[13:21] 20 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] 21 tn Heb “will skip there.”
[13:22] 22 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).
[13:22] 23 tn Heb “near to come is her time.”
[13:22] 24 sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689
[14:23] 25 tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).
[14:23] 26 tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”
[34:9] 27 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:10] 28 tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
[34:11] 29 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] 30 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
[34:11] 31 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] 32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:11] 33 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
[34:11] 34 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
[34:12] 35 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
[34:13] 36 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:13] 37 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)
[34:14] 38 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
[34:14] 39 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
[34:14] 40 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] 41 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
[34:15] 42 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
[34:15] 43 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
[34:15] 44 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
[34:15] 45 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
[34:16] 46 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”
[34:16] 47 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:16] 48 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
[34:16] 49 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and a few medieval
[34:16] 50 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 51 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 52 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
[34:17] 53 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
[2:9] 54 tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”
[2:9] 55 tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.
[2:9] 56 tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
[2:9] 57 tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:9] 58 tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
[2:13] 59 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[2:13] 60 tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.”
[2:14] 62 tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
[2:14] 63 tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How גוֹי (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be a corruption of another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193.
[2:14] 64 tn The Hebrew text reads here גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term קָאַת refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term קִפֹּד may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings.
[2:14] 65 tn Heb “a sound will sing in the window.” If some type of owl is in view, “hoot” is a more appropriate translation (cf. NEB, NRSV).
[2:14] 66 tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word חֹרֶב (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to עֹרֵב (’orev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vulgate; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window – a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104).
[2:14] 67 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”
[2:14] 68 tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”
[2:15] 69 tn Heb “this is the proud city.”
[2:15] 70 tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”
[2:15] 71 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
[2:15] 72 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”
[2:15] 73 tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”
[2:15] 74 sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.
[1:3] 75 tn Heb “and I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated.” The context indicates this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively (see Deut 7:8; Jer 31:3; Hos 3:1; 9:15; 11:1).
[1:3] 76 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:3] 77 tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”
[1:3] 78 tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).
[18:2] 79 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style
[18:2] 80 tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.
[18:2] 81 tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”
[18:2] 82 tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some
[18:21] 83 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
[18:21] 84 tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.
[18:21] 85 sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.
[18:22] 86 tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.
[18:22] 87 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[18:22] 88 tn On this term BDAG 1001 s.v. τεχνίτης states, “craftsperson, artisan, designer…Of a silversmith Ac 19:24, 25 v.l., 38….Of a potter 2 Cl 8:2 (metaph., cp. Ath. 15:2). πᾶς τεχνίτης πάσης τέχνης Rv 18:22.”
[18:22] 89 tn This is a different Greek word (μύλος, mulos) from the one for the millstone in v. 21 (μύλινος, mulinos). See L&N 7.68.
