Yesaya 13:21-22

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ¹  houses will be full of hyenas. ² 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ³ 

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

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ⁴ 

Her time is almost up, ⁵ 

her days will not be prolonged. ⁶ 

Yesaya 34:11

34:11 Owls and wild animals ⁷  will live there, ⁸ 

all kinds of wild birds ⁹  will settle in it.

The Lord ¹⁰  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ¹¹  of destruction. ¹² 

Yesaya 34:13-15

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ¹³  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ¹⁴ 

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ¹⁵ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ¹⁶ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ¹⁷  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ¹⁸ 

34:15 Owls ¹⁹  will make nests and lay eggs ²⁰  there;

they will hatch them and protect them. ²¹ 

Yes, hawks ²²  will gather there,

each with its mate.

Yeremia 50:39

50:39 Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there.

Ostriches ²³  will dwell in it too. ²⁴ 

But no people will ever live there again.

No one will dwell there for all time to come. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 51:37

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ²⁶ 

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives. ²⁷ 

Zefanya 2:14-15

2:14 Flocks and herds ²⁸  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ²⁹ 

Owls ³⁰  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ³¹ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ³² 

even the cedar work ³³  will be exposed to the elements. ³⁴ 

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ³⁵  –

the city that was so secure. ³⁶ 

She thought to herself, ³⁷  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ³⁸ 

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

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ³⁹  and shakes his fist. ⁴⁰ 

[13:21]  ¹ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[13:22]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ⁶ 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.

[34:11]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[34:11]  ¹² sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

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

[34:13]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”

[34:15]  ¹⁹ tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.

[34:15]  ²⁰ tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.

[34:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”

[34:15]  ²² 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.

[50:39]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Therefore desert creatures will live with jackals and ostriches will live in it.”

[50:39]  ²⁵ 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.

[51:37]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.

[51:37]  ²⁷ tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”

[2:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”

[2:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁰ 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.