Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 14:23
23“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Isaiah 14:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
- New International Version (NIV)“I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the Lord of hosts.
Context of Isaiah 14:23
21Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities. 22“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,” declares the LORD. “I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts. 24The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand. 25I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
Read all of Isaiah 14Isaiah 14:23 word by word
וְשַׂמְתִּ֛יהָ לְמוֹרַ֥שׁ קִפֹּ֖ד וְאַגְמֵי־מָ֑יִם וְטֵֽאטֵאתִ֙יהָ֙ בְּמַטְאֲטֵ֣א הַשְׁמֵ֔ד נְאֻ֖ם יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃ פRead the interlinear
- I will make herשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- a placeמוֹרָשׁmôrâsh · possessionH4180
- for owlsקִפֹּדqippôd qippôd · porcupineH7090
- and for swamplandsאֲגַם'ăgam · poolH98
- and for swamplandsמַיmayim · waterH4325
- I will sweep her awayטֵאטֵאţû' · to sweepH2894
- with the broomמַטְאֲטֵאmaţ'ăţê' · broomH4292
- of destructionשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045
- declaresנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of Hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Isaiah 14:23
- Isaiah 13:21But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.
- Isaiah 34:11The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
- Jeremiah 50:39So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
- Jeremiah 51:42The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves.
- Zephaniah 2:14Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.
- Revelation 14:8Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- Revelation 18:2And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
- 1 Kings 14:10Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!
- 2 Kings 21:13I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
- Jeremiah 51:25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you; I will roll you over the cliffs and turn you into a charred mountain.
Commentaries on Isaiah 14:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23I will sweep it with the besom of destruction "I will plunge it in the miry gulf of destruction" - I have here very nearly followed the Version of the Septuagint; the reasons for which see in the last note on De Poesi Hebr. Praelect, xxviii. The besom of destruction, as our Version renders it. במטאטא bematate . This, says Kimchi, is a Chaldee word: and it is worthy of remark that the prophet, writing to the Chaldeans, uses several words peculiar to their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23I will also make it a possession for the bittern - The word bittern,‘ in English, means a bird with long legs and neck, that stalks among reeds and sedge, feeding upon fish. The Hebrew word (קפד qı̂ppod ), occurs but five times Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14. According to Bochart and Gesenius, it means the hedgehog. It has been variously rendered. Some have supposed it to be a land animal; some an aquatic animal; and most have regarded it as a fowl. Bochart…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-23Isaiah summarized the earlier taunt (Isaiah 14:3–21) with this prophecy, spoken in the first person. God declares that Babylon will be destroyed and left in ruins.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. bittern--rather, "the hedgehog" [Maurer and Gesenius]. Strabo (16:1) states that enormous hedgehogs were found in the islands of the Euphrates. pools--owing to Cyrus turning the waters of the Euphrates over the country. besom--sweep-net [Maurer], (1Ki 14:10; 2Ki 21:13). This would comfort the Jews when captives in Babylon, being a pledge that God, who had by that time fulfilled the promise concerning Sennacherib (though now still future), would also…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 14:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 14
- 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
Berean Standard Bible — © Berean Bible — CC0 / Public Domain
Commentaries