Isaiah 34:13

Verse

Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

American Standard Version (1901)

And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

Bible in Basic English

And thorns will come up in her fair houses, and waste plants in her strong towers: and foxes will make their holes there, and it will be a meeting-place for ostriches.

Free Bible Version

Thorns will grow over its palaces; weeds and thistles will take over its fortresses. It will be a place where jackals live, a home for owls.

Geneva Bible 1599

And it shall bring foorth thornes in the palaces thereof, nettles and thistles in the strong holdes thereof, and it shall be an habitation for dragons, and a court for ostriches.

King James (Authorized) Version

And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

One Unity Resource Bible

Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

Translation for Translators

The deserted palaces and fortified buildings will be full of thorns and thistles. The ruins will be a place for jackals/wolves and owls to live.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Thorns will overgrow her palaces, nettles and thistles her fortresses. It will be a habitation of jackals, a place for ostriches.

Noah Webster Bible

And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in her fortresses, and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

World English Bible

Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

Young's Literal Translation

And gone up her palaces have thorns, Nettle and bramble [are] in her fortresses, And it hath been a habitation of dragons, A court for daughters of an ostrich.

Context

Judgment on Edom

¹²No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing. ¹³Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches. ¹⁴The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature will settle and find her place of repose.

Summary

Isaiah 34:13 describes the desolation and abandonment of Edom, using vivid imagery of thorns, nettles, and thistles overrunning the land. This verse symbolizes the judgment and punishment that will come upon those who rebel against God and reject His ways. The depiction of wild animals dwelling in the ruins signifies the complete devastation and absence of human life in the forsaken territory. Overall, Isaiah 34:13 serves as a warning of the consequences of turning away from God and the ultimate fate of those who persist in disobedience.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

And thorns shall come up in her palaces - ועלו בארמנותיה vealu bearmenotheyha; so read all the ancient versions. A court for owls - יענה yaanah, the ostrich, from ענה anah, to cry, because of the noise it makes. "They roar, "says Dr. Shaw, "sometimes like a lion - sometimes like a bull. I have often heard them groan as if in the utmost distress."

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

The allusion to the monarchy and the lofty electoral dignity leads the prophet on to the palaces and castles of the land. Starting with these, he carries out the picture of the ruins in Isa 34:13-15. "And the palaces of Edom break out into thorns, nettles and thistles in its castles; and it becomes the abode of wild dogs, pasture for ostriches. And martens meet with jackals, and a wood-devil runs upon its fellow; yea, Liiliith dwells there, and finds rest for itself. There the arrow-snake makes its nest, and breeds and lays eggs, and broods in the shadow there; yea, there vultures gather together one to another." The feminine suffixes refer to Edom, as they did in the previous instance, as בּת־אדום or אדום ארץ. On the tannı̄m, tsiyyı̄m, and 'iyyı̄m, see at Isa 13:21-22. It is doubtful whether châtsı̄r here corresponds to the Arabic word for an enclosure (= חצר), as Gesenius, Hitzig, and others suppose, as elsewhere to the Arabic for green, a green field, or garden vegetable. We take it in the latter sense, viz., a grassy place, such as was frequented by ostriches, which live upon plants and fruits. The word tsiyyim (steppe animals) we have rendered "martens," as the context requires a particular species of animals to be named. This is the interpretation given by Rashi (in loc.) and Kimchi in Jer 50:39 to the Targum word tamvân. We do not render 'iyyı̄m "wild cats" (chattūilin), but "jackals," after the Arabic. קרא with על we take in the sense of קרה (as in Exo 5:3). Lı̄lı̄th (Syr. and Zab. lelitho), lit., the creature of the night, was a female demon (shēdâh) of the popular mythology; according to the legends, it was a malicious fairy that was especially hurtful to children, like some of the fairies of our own fairy tales. There is life in Edom still; but what a caricature of that which once was there! In the very spot where the princes of Edom used to proclaim the new king, satyrs now invite one another to dance (Isa 13:21); and there kings and princes once slept in their palaces and country houses, the lı̄lı̄th, which is most at home in horrible places, finds, as though after a prolonged search, the most convenient and most comfortable resting-place. Demons and serpents are not very far distant from one another. The prophet therefore proceeds in Isa 34:15 to the arrow-snake, or springing-snake (Arabic qiffâze, from qâphaz, related to qâphats, Sol 2:8, to prepare for springing, or to spring; a different word from qippōd, which has the same root). This builds its nest in the ruins; there it breeds (millēt, to let its eggs slide out) and lays eggs (bâqa‛, to split, i.e., to bring forth); and then it broods in the shade (dâgar is the Targum word in Job 39:14 for chimmēm (ithpael in Lam 1:20 for חמרמר), and is also used in the rabbinical writings for fovere, as Jerome renders it here). The literal sense of the word is probably to keep the eggs together (Targum, Jer 17:11, בּעין מכנּשׁ, lxx συνήγαγεν), since דּגר (syn. חמּר) signifies "to collect." Rashi has therefore explained it in both passages as meaning glousser, to cluck, the noise by which a fowl calls its brood together. The dayyâh is the vulture. These fowls and most gregarious birds of prey also collect together there.

Isaiah 34:13

Judgment on Edom

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

American Standard Version (1901)

And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

Bible in Basic English

And thorns will come up in her fair houses, and waste plants in her strong towers: and foxes will make their holes there, and it will be a meeting-place for ostriches.

Free Bible Version

Thorns will grow over its palaces; weeds and thistles will take over its fortresses. It will be a place where jackals live, a home for owls.

Geneva Bible 1599

And it shall bring foorth thornes in the palaces thereof, nettles and thistles in the strong holdes thereof, and it shall be an habitation for dragons, and a court for ostriches.

King James (Authorized) Version

And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

One Unity Resource Bible

Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

Translation for Translators

The deserted palaces and fortified buildings will be full of thorns and thistles. The ruins will be a place for jackals/wolves and owls to live.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Thorns will overgrow her palaces, nettles and thistles her fortresses. It will be a habitation of jackals, a place for ostriches.

Noah Webster Bible

And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in her fortresses, and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

World English Bible

Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

Young's Literal Translation

And gone up her palaces have thorns, Nettle and bramble [are] in her fortresses, And it hath been a habitation of dragons, A court for daughters of an ostrich.

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Isaiah 34:13

Verse

Context

Judgment on Edom

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Isaiah 34:13

Judgment on Edom

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary