Revised Literal Translation
Isaiah 14:23
23I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Yhwh of Armies.
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 slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22For I will rise up against them, saith Yhwh of Armies, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith Yhwh. 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 Yhwh of Armies. 24Yhwh of Armies hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 25That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off 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 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
- Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of Armiesצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Isaiah 14:23
- Isaiah 13:21But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
- Isaiah 34:11But 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.
- Jeremiah 50:39Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
- Jeremiah 51:42The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
- Zephaniah 2:14And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.
- Revelation 14:8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
- Revelation 18:2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
- 1 Kings 14:10Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
- 2 Kings 21:13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
- Jeremiah 51:25Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Yhwh, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee 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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries