Job 17:14

17:14 If I cry ¹  to corruption, ²  ‘You are my father,’

and to the worm, ‘My Mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

Psalms 102:6

102:6 I am like an owl ³  in the wilderness;

I am like a screech owl ⁴  among the ruins. ⁵ 

Isaiah 13:21-22

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ⁶  houses will be full of hyenas. ⁷ 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ⁸ 

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ⁹ 

Her time is almost up, ¹⁰ 

her days will not be prolonged. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ¹²  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ¹³ 

O sovereign master, ¹⁴  I am oppressed;

help me! ¹⁵ 

Micah 1:8

1:8 For this reason I ¹⁶  will mourn and wail;

I will walk around barefoot ¹⁷  and without my outer garments. ¹⁸ 

I will howl ¹⁹  like a wild dog, ²⁰ 

and screech ²¹  like an owl. ²² 

Malachi 1:3

1:3 and rejected Esau. ²³  I turned Esau’s ²⁴  mountains into a deserted wasteland ²⁵  and gave his territory ²⁶  to the wild jackals.”

[17:14]  ¹ tn This is understood because the conditional clauses seem to run to the apodosis in v. 15.

[17:14]  ² tn The word שַׁחַת (shakhat) may be the word “corruption” from a root שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) or a word “pit” from שׁוּחַ (shuakh, “to sink down”). The same problem surfaces in Ps 16:10, where it is parallel to “Sheol.” E. F. Sutcliffe, The Old Testament and the Future Life, 76ff., defends the meaning “corruption.” But many commentators here take it to mean “the grave” in harmony with “Sheol.” But in this verse “worms” would suggest “corruption” is better.

[102:6]  ³ tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).

[102:6]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).

[102:6]  ⁵ sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.

[13:21]  ⁶ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[13:22]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ¹¹ sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[38:14]  ¹² tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[1:8]  ¹⁶ tn The prophet is probably the speaker here.

[1:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “stripped.” The precise meaning of this Hebrew word is unclear. It may refer to walking barefoot (see 2 Sam 15:30) or to partially stripping oneself (see Job 12:17-19).

[1:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “naked.” This probably does not refer to complete nudity, but to stripping off one’s outer garments as an outward sign of the destitution felt by the mourner.

[1:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will make lamentation.”

[1:8]  ²⁰ tn Or “a jackal”; CEV “howling wolves.”

[1:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “[make] a mourning.”

[1:8]  ²² tn Or perhaps “ostrich” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[1:3]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”

[1:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).