New King James Version
Isaiah 14:23
23“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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)“I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Context of Isaiah 14:23
21Prepare slaughter for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities.” 22“For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts, “And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity,” says the Lord. “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. 24The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand: 25That I will break the Assyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- I will also makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- it a possessionמוֹרָשׁmôrâsh · possessionH4180
- for the bitternקִפֹּדqippôd qippôd · porcupineH7090
- and poolsאֲגַם'ăgam · poolH98
- of waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- and I will sweepטֵאטֵאţû' · to sweepH2894
- it with the besomמַטְאֲטֵאmaţ'ăţê' · broomH4292
- of destructionשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Isaiah 14:23
- Isaiah 13:21But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there.
- Isaiah 34:11But 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.
- Jeremiah 50:39“Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals, And the ostriches shall dwell in it. It shall be inhabited no more forever, Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
- Jeremiah 51:42The sea has come up over Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of its waves.
- Zephaniah 2:14The herds shall lie down in her midst, Every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern Shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; Their voice shall sing in the windows; Desolation shall be at the threshold; For He will lay bare the cedar work.
- Revelation 14:8And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
- Revelation 18:2And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
- 1 Kings 14:10therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.
- 2 Kings 21:13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
- Jeremiah 51:25“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys all the earth,” says the Lord. “And I will stretch out My hand against you, Roll you down from the rocks, And make you a burnt 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries