Yesaya 17:9

17:9 At that time ¹  their fortified cities will be

like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, ² 

which they abandoned because of the Israelites;

there will be desolation.

Yesaya 34:13

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ³  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ⁴ 

Yesaya 55:13

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁵ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ⁶ 

[17:9]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[17:9]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “like the abandonment of the wooded height and the top one.” The following relative clause appears to allude back to the Israelite conquest of the land, so it seems preferable to emend הַחֹרֶשׁ וְהָאָמִיר (hakhoresh vÿha’amir, “the wooded height and the top one”) to חֹרֵשֵׁי הָאֱמֹרִי (khoreshe ha’emori, “[like the abandonment] of the wooded heights of the Amorites”).

[34:13]  ³ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ⁴ 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)

[55:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ⁶ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”