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Isaiah 34:11

Judgment

9 Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.

10 It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.

The 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.

12 No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.

13 Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

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This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
The 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.
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.
WEB
But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it. The owl and the raven will dwell in it. He will stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.
ASV
But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein: and he will stretch over it the line of confusion, and the plummet of emptiness.
DARBY
And the pelican and the bittern shall possess it, and the great owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And he shall stretch out upon it the line of waste, and the plummets of emptiness.
BLB
and the hawk and the hedgehog will dispossess her, and the owl and the raven will dwell in her; and He will stretch out over her a measuring line of confusion, and a plumb line of emptiness.
ÅB
Pelikan og pinnsvin skal eie det, og hubro og ravn skal bo i det, og han skal utspenne over det ødeleggelsens målesnor og tilintetgjørelsens lodd.
OTB
Pelikanen og pinnsvinet skal eie det; uglen og ravnen skal bo der. Han skal strekke over det kaosets linje og ødeleggelsens lodd.
B1930
Pelikan og pinnsvin skal eie det, og hubro og ravn skal bo i det, og han skal utspenne over det ødeleggelsens målesnor og tilintetgjørelsens lodd.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Lamentations 2:8

    The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together they waste away.

    Read in context

  • 2 Kings 21:13

    I 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.

    Read in context

  • Zephaniah 2:14

    Herds 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.

    Read in context

  • Revelation 18:2

    And 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.

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 14:23

    “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.

    Read in context

  • 2 Samuel 8:2

    David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

    Read in context

  • Malachi 1:3–4

    but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

    Read in context

  • Revelation 18:21–23

    Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.

    Read in context