11:14 They will swoop down 1 on the Philistine hills to the west; 2
together they will loot the people of the east.
They will take over Edom and Moab, 3
and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
34:11 Owls and wild animals 4 will live there, 5
all kinds of wild birds 6 will settle in it.
The Lord 7 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 8 of destruction. 9
1 tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.
2 tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.
3 tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).
4 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”).
5 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
6 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.
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
9 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.