11 The desert owl[a] and the screech owl[b] will possess it,
and the great owl and the raven will dwell there.(A)
The Lord will stretch out a measuring line
and a plumb line over her
for her destruction and chaos.(B)
12 No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,
and all her princes will come to nothing.
13 Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns;
her fortified cities, with thistles and briers.(C)
She will become a dwelling for jackals,
an abode[c] for ostriches.(D)
14 The desert creatures will meet hyenas,
and one wild goat will call to another.
Indeed, the screech owl will stay there
and will find a resting place for herself.
15 The sand partridge[d] will make her nest there;
she will lay and hatch her eggs
and will gather her brood under her shadow.
Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there,
each with its mate.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:11 Or The pelican
  2. Isaiah 34:11 Or the hedgehog
  3. Isaiah 34:13 DSS, LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads jackals, grass
  4. Isaiah 34:15 Or The arrow snake, or The owl

14 Herds will lie down in the middle of it,
every kind of wild animal.[a]
Both the desert owl[b] and the screech owl[c]
will roost in the capitals of its pillars.
Their calls will sound[d] from the window,
but devastation[e] will be on the threshold,
for He will expose the cedar work.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:14 Lit every wild animal of a nation
  2. Zephaniah 2:14 Or the pelican
  3. Zephaniah 2:14 Or the hedgehog
  4. Zephaniah 2:14 Lit sing
  5. Zephaniah 2:14 LXX, Vg read ravens
  6. Zephaniah 2:14 Hb obscure

He cried in a mighty voice:

It has fallen,[a]
Babylon the Great has fallen!(A)
She has become a dwelling for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
and a haunt[b] for every unclean and despicable beast.[c](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:2 Other mss omit It has fallen
  2. Revelation 18:2 Or prison
  3. Revelation 18:2 Other mss omit the words and a haunt for every unclean beast. The words and despicable then refer to the bird of the previous line.

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