Nahum 3:7

3:7 Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust;

they will say, ‘Nineveh has been devastated!

Who will lament for her?’

There will be no one to comfort you!” ¹ 

Genesis 1:2

1:2 Now ²  the earth ³  was without shape and empty, ⁴  and darkness ⁵  was over the surface of the watery deep, ⁶  but the Spirit of God ⁷  was moving ⁸  over the surface ⁹  of the water. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 13:19-22

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ¹¹  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ¹² 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ¹³ 

13:20 No one will live there again;

no one will ever reside there again. ¹⁴ 

No bedouin ¹⁵  will camp ¹⁶  there,

no shepherds will rest their flocks ¹⁷  there.

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ¹⁸  houses will be full of hyenas. ¹⁹ 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ²⁰ 

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

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ²¹ 

Her time is almost up, ²² 

her days will not be prolonged. ²³ 

Isaiah 14:23

14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals ²⁴ 

and covered with pools of stagnant water.

I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” ²⁵ 

says the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 24:1

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth

and leave it in ruins;

he will mar its surface

and scatter its inhabitants.

Isaiah 34:10-15

34:10 Night and day it will burn; ²⁶ 

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 ²⁷  will live there, ²⁸ 

all kinds of wild birds ²⁹  will settle in it.

The Lord ³⁰  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ³¹  of destruction. ³² 

34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom

and all her officials will disappear. ³³ 

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ³⁴  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ³⁵ 

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ³⁶ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ³⁷ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ³⁸  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ³⁹ 

34:15 Owls ⁴⁰  will make nests and lay eggs ⁴¹  there;

they will hatch them and protect them. ⁴² 

Yes, hawks ⁴³  will gather there,

each with its mate.

Jeremiah 4:23-26

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ⁴⁴  that it was an empty wasteland. ⁴⁵ 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.

All the hills were swaying back and forth!

4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, ⁴⁶ 

and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert

and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.

The Lord had brought this all about

because of his blazing anger. ⁴⁷ 

Jeremiah 51:62

51:62 Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’

Zephaniah 2:13-15

2:13 The Lord ⁴⁸  will attack the north ⁴⁹ 

and destroy Assyria.

He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;

it will be as barren ⁵⁰  as the desert.

2:14 Flocks and herds ⁵¹  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ⁵² 

Owls ⁵³  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ⁵⁴ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ⁵⁵ 

even the cedar work ⁵⁶  will be exposed to the elements. ⁵⁷ 

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ⁵⁸  –

the city that was so secure. ⁵⁹ 

She thought to herself, ⁶⁰  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ⁶¹ 

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ⁶²  and shakes his fist. ⁶³ 

Zephaniah 3:6

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ⁶⁴  nations;

their walled cities ⁶⁵  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ⁶⁶ 

no one lives there. ⁶⁷ 

Revelation 18:21-23

18:21 Then ⁶⁸  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 ⁶⁹ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ⁷⁰ 

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 ⁷¹  again.

No ⁷²  craftsman ⁷³  who practices any trade

will ever be found in you again;

the noise of a mill ⁷⁴  will never be heard in you again.

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ⁷⁵  were deceived by your magic spells! ⁷⁶ 

[3:7]  ¹ tc While the MT reads 2nd person feminine singular לָךְ (lakh, “for you”), the LXX reads αὔτή (Jauth, “for her”). The Dead Sea Scrolls from Wadi Murabba’at read לך (“for you”). The MT reading is preferred for several reasons: (1) it is supported by the scrolls from Wadi Murabba’at; (2) it is the most difficult reading; and (3) it explains the origin of the LXX which probably harmonized this with the preceding 3rd person feminine singular pronoun. Abrupt switches from third to second person are commonly found in poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Deut 32:15; Isa 5:8; Jer 29:19; Job 16:7) as well as in Northwest Semitic curses (see S. Gevirtz, “West-Semitic Curses and the Problem of the Origins of Hebrew Law,” VT 11 [1961]: 147, n. 4).

[1:2]  ² tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) at the beginning of v. 2 gives background information for the following narrative, explaining the state of things when “God said…” (v. 3). Verse one is a title to the chapter, v. 2 provides information about the state of things when God spoke, and v. 3 begins the narrative per se with the typical narrative construction (vav [ו] consecutive followed by the prefixed verbal form). (This literary structure is paralleled in the second portion of the book: Gen 2:4 provides the title or summary of what follows, 2:5-6 use disjunctive clause structures to give background information for the following narrative, and 2:7 begins the narrative with the vav consecutive attached to a prefixed verbal form.) Some translate 1:2a “and the earth became,” arguing that v. 1 describes the original creation of the earth, while v. 2 refers to a judgment that reduced it to a chaotic condition. Verses 3ff. then describe the re-creation of the earth. However, the disjunctive clause at the beginning of v. 2 cannot be translated as if it were relating the next event in a sequence. If v. 2 were sequential to v. 1, the author would have used the vav consecutive followed by a prefixed verbal form and the subject.

[1:2]  ³ tn That is, what we now call “the earth.” The creation of the earth as we know it is described in vv. 9-10. Prior to this the substance which became the earth (= dry land) lay dormant under the water.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Traditional translations have followed a more literal rendering of “waste and void.” The words describe a condition that is without form and empty. What we now know as “the earth” was actually an unfilled mass covered by water and darkness. Later תֹהוּ (tohu) and בֹּהוּ (bohu), when used in proximity, describe a situation resulting from judgment (Isa 34:11; Jer 4:23). Both prophets may be picturing judgment as the reversal of creation in which God’s judgment causes the world to revert to its primordial condition. This later use of the terms has led some to conclude that Gen 1:2 presupposes the judgment of a prior world, but it is unsound method to read the later application of the imagery (in a context of judgment) back into Gen 1:2.

[1:2]  ⁵ sn Darkness. The Hebrew word simply means “darkness,” but in the Bible it has come to symbolize what opposes God, such as judgment (Exod 10:21), death (Ps 88:13), oppression (Isa 9:1), the wicked (1 Sam 2:9) and in general, sin. In Isa 45:7 it parallels “evil.” It is a fitting cover for the primeval waste, but it prepares the reader for the fact that God is about to reveal himself through his works.

[1:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 7:11).

[1:2]  ⁷ tn The traditional rendering “Spirit of God” is preserved here, as opposed to a translation like “wind from/breath of God” (cf. NRSV) or “mighty wind” (cf. NEB), taking the word “God” to represent the superlative. Elsewhere in the OT the phrase refers consistently to the divine spirit that empowers and energizes individuals (see Gen 41:38; Exod 31:3; 35:31; Num 24:2; 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 19:20, 23; Ezek 11:24; 2 Chr 15:1; 24:20).

[1:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew verb has been translated “hovering” or “moving” (as a bird over her young, see Deut 32:11). The Syriac cognate term means “to brood over; to incubate.” How much of that sense might be attached here is hard to say, but the verb does depict the presence of the Spirit of God moving about mysteriously over the waters, presumably preparing for the acts of creation to follow. If one reads “mighty wind” (cf. NEB) then the verse describes how the powerful wind begins to blow in preparation for the creative act described in vv. 9-10. (God also used a wind to drive back the flood waters in Noah’s day. See Gen 8:1.)

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “face.”

[1:2]  ¹⁰ sn The water. The text deliberately changes now from the term for the watery deep to the general word for water. The arena is now the life-giving water and not the chaotic abyss-like deep. The change may be merely stylistic, but it may also carry some significance. The deep carries with it the sense of the abyss, chaos, darkness – in short, that which is not good for life.

[13:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

[13:19]  ¹² tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

[13:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.

[13:20]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Arab” (NAB, NASB, NIV); cf. CEV, NLT “nomads.”

[13:20]  ¹⁶ tn יַהֵל (yahel) is probably a corrupted form of יֶאֱהַל (ye’ehal). See GKC 186 §68.k.

[13:20]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[13:22]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ²³ 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.

[14:23]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”

[34:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”

[34:11]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ³² sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[34:12]  ³³ tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”

[34:13]  ³⁴ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ³⁵ 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)

[34:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”

[34:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.

[34:15]  ⁴¹ tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.

[34:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”

[34:15]  ⁴³ 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.

[4:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[4:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “there was no man/human being.”

[4:26]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “because of the Lord, because of his blazing anger.”

[2:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.”

[2:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “dry.”

[2:14]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ⁶² tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ⁶³ 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.

[3:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ⁶⁶ tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.

[3:6]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[18:21]  ⁶⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷¹ tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.

[18:22]  ⁷² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:22]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ 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.

[18:23]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ⁷⁶ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”