Amplified Bible
Isaiah 34:11
11But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it; The owl and the raven will dwell in it. And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.
Isaiah 34:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
- New International Version (NIV)The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
Context of Isaiah 34:11
9The streams [of Edom] will be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch. 10The burning will not be quenched night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will lie in ruins; No one will ever again pass through it. But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it; The owl and the raven will dwell in it. And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness. 12Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its princes will be nothing. 13Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities; It will be a haunt for jackals, An abode for ostriches.
Read all of Isaiah 34Isaiah 34:11 word by word
וִירֵשׁ֙וּהָ֙ קָאַ֣ת וְקִפּ֔וֹד וְיַנְשׁ֥וֹף וְעֹרֵ֖ב יִשְׁכְּנוּ־בָ֑הּ וְנָטָ֥ה עָלֶ֛יהָ קַֽו־תֹ֖הוּ וְאַבְנֵי־בֹֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But the cormorantקָאַתqâ'ath · pelicanH6893
- and the bitternקִפֹּדqippôd qippôd · porcupineH7090
- shall possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: possessH3423
- it; the owlיַנְשׁוּףyanshûph yanshôph · owlH3244
- also and the ravenעֹרֵב‛ôrêb ‛ôrêb · ravenH6158
- shall dwellשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
- in it: and he shall stretch outנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- upon it the lineקַוqav qâv · lineH6957
- of confusionתֹּ֫הוּtôhû · formlessnessH8414
- and the stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- of emptinessבֹּהוּbôhû · voidH922
Cross-references for Isaiah 34:11
- Isaiah 13:20Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there.
- Isaiah 14:23“I will also make Babylon a possession of the hedgehog and of swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of hosts.
- Zephaniah 2:14Flocks will lie down in her midst, All the animals which range in herds; Both the pelican and the short-eared owl Will roost on the top of Nineveh’s pillars. Birds will sing in the window, Desolation will be on the threshold; For He has uncovered the cedar paneling.
- Revelation 18:2And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird.
- 2 Samuel 8:2He defeated Moab, and measured them with a length of rope, making them lie down on the ground; he measured two lengths to [choose those to] put to death, and one full length to [choose those to] be kept alive. And the [surviving] Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
- 2 Kings 21:13I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes a [dirty] bowl clean, wiping it and turning it upside down.
- Lamentations 2:8The Lord determined to lay in ruins The [city] wall of the Daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not stopped His hand from destroying. He has caused the rampart and the wall to lament (mourn in grief); They have languished together.
- Malachi 1:3but [in comparison with My love for Jacob] I have hated Esau (Edom), and I have made his mountains a wasteland, and have given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.”
Commentaries on Isaiah 34:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11The cormorant - קאת kaath, the pelican, from the root קיא ki, to vomit, because it is said she swallows shell-fish, and when the heat of her stomach has killed the fish, she vomits the shells, takes out the dead fish, and eats them. The bittern - קפד kippod, the hedge-hog, or porcupine. The owl - ינשוף yanshoph, the bittern, from נשף nashaph, to blow, because of the blowing noise it makes, almost like the lowing of an ox. My old MS. Bible renders the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11But the cormorant - This and the following verses contain a description of the desolations of Edom in language remarkably similar to that employed in the account of the destruction of Babylon Isaiah 13:20-22; Isaiah 14:23. The word here translated cormorant‘ (קאת qâ'ath ), occurs in this place and in Zephaniah 2:14, where it is rendered cormorant,‘ and in Leviticus 11:18; Deuteronomy 14:17; Psalm 102:6, where it is rendered pelican.‘ Bochart supposes it…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his Spirit will perform. And let us…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11The identification of some of these birds is uncertain, but they inhabited wild and deserted places and many were considered unclean (Deuteronomy 14:11–18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. cormorant--The Hebrew is rendered, in Psa 102:6, "pelican," which is a seafowl, and cannot be meant here: some waterfowl (katta, according to Burckhardt) that tenants desert places is intended. bittern--rather, "the hedgehog," or "porcupine" [Gesenius] (Is 14:23). owl--from its being enumerated among water birds in Le 11:17; De 14:16. Maurer thinks rather the heron or crane is meant; from a Hebrew root, "to blow," as it utters a sound like the blowing…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 34:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 34
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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