Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Isaiah » Chapter 34 » Verse 1-17

Isaiah 34:1-17 King James Version (KJV)

1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.

2 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.

7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

8 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

11 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.

12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.

13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.

15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.

16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.


Isaiah 34:1-17 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Come near, H7126 ye nations, H1471 to hear; H8085 and hearken, H7181 ye people: H3816 let the earth H776 hear, H8085 and all that is therein; H4393 the world, H8398 and all things that come forth H6631 of it.

2 For the indignation H7110 of the LORD H3068 is upon all nations, H1471 and his fury H2534 upon all their armies: H6635 he hath utterly destroyed H2763 them, he hath delivered H5414 them to the slaughter. H2874

3 Their slain H2491 also shall be cast out, H7993 and their stink H889 shall come up H5927 out of their carcases, H6297 and the mountains H2022 shall be melted H4549 with their blood. H1818

4 And all the host H6635 of heaven H8064 shall be dissolved, H4743 and the heavens H8064 shall be rolled together H1556 as a scroll: H5612 and all their host H6635 shall fall down, H5034 as the leaf H5929 falleth off H5034 from the vine, H1612 and as a falling H5034 fig from the fig tree. H8384

5 For my sword H2719 shall be bathed H7301 in heaven: H8064 behold, it shall come down H3381 upon Idumea, H123 and upon the people H5971 of my curse, H2764 to judgment. H4941

6 The sword H2719 of the LORD H3068 is filled H4390 with blood, H1818 it is made fat H1878 with fatness, H2459 and with the blood H1818 of lambs H3733 and goats, H6260 with the fat H2459 of the kidneys H3629 of rams: H352 for the LORD H3068 hath a sacrifice H2077 in Bozrah, H1224 and a great H1419 slaughter H2874 in the land H776 of Idumea. H123

7 And the unicorns H7214 shall come down H3381 with them, and the bullocks H6499 with the bulls; H47 and their land H776 shall be soaked H7301 with blood, H1818 and their dust H6083 made fat H1878 with fatness. H2459

8 For it is the day H3117 of the LORD'S H3068 vengeance, H5359 and the year H8141 of recompences H7966 for the controversy H7379 of Zion. H6726

9 And the streams H5158 thereof shall be turned H2015 into pitch, H2203 and the dust H6083 thereof into brimstone, H1614 and the land H776 thereof shall become burning H1197 pitch. H2203

10 It shall not be quenched H3518 night H3915 nor day; H3119 the smoke H6227 thereof shall go up H5927 for ever: H5769 from generation H1755 to generation H1755 it shall lie waste; H2717 none shall pass through H5674 it for ever H5331 and ever. H5331

11 But the cormorant H6893 and the bittern H7090 shall possess H3423 it; the owl H3244 also and the raven H6158 shall dwell H7931 in it: and he shall stretch out H5186 upon it the line H6957 of confusion, H8414 and the stones H68 of emptiness. H922

12 They shall call H7121 the nobles H2715 thereof to the kingdom, H4410 but none shall be there, and all her princes H8269 shall be nothing. H657

13 And thorns H5518 shall come up H5927 in her palaces, H759 nettles H7057 and brambles H2336 in the fortresses H4013 thereof: and it shall be an habitation H5116 of dragons, H8577 and a court H2681 for owls. H1323 H3284

14 The wild beasts of the desert H6728 shall also meet H6298 with the wild beasts of the island, H338 and the satyr H8163 shall cry H7121 to his fellow; H7453 the screech owl H3917 also shall rest H7280 there, and find H4672 for herself a place of rest. H4494

15 There shall the great owl H7091 make her nest, H7077 and lay, H4422 and hatch, H1234 and gather H1716 under her shadow: H6738 there shall the vultures H1772 also be gathered, H6908 every one H802 with her mate. H7468

16 Seek ye out H1875 of the book H5612 of the LORD, H3068 and read: H7121 no one H259 of these H2007 shall fail, H5737 none H802 shall want H6485 her mate: H7468 for my mouth H6310 it hath commanded, H6680 and his spirit H7307 it hath gathered H6908 them.

17 And he hath cast H5307 the lot H1486 for them, and his hand H3027 hath divided H2505 it unto them by line: H6957 they shall possess H3423 it for H5704 ever, H5769 from generation H1755 to generation H1755 shall they dwell H7931 therein.


Isaiah 34:1-17 American Standard (ASV)

1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples: let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all things that come forth from it.

2 For Jehovah hath indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading `leaf' from the fig-tree.

5 For my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

6 The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 And the wild-oxen shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls: and their land shall be drunken with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

8 For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 And the streams of `Edom' shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

11 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.

12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

14 And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest.

15 There shall the dart-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, every one with her mate.

16 Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah, and read: no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate; for my mouth, it hath commanded, and his Spirit, it hath gathered them.

17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever; from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.


Isaiah 34:1-17 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Come near, ye nations, to hear, And ye peoples, give attention, Hear doth the earth and its fulness, The world, and all its productions.

2 For wrath `is' to Jehovah against all the nations, And fury against all their host, He hath devoted them to destruction, He hath given them to slaughter.

3 And their wounded are cast out, And their carcases cause their stench to ascend, And melted have been mountains from their blood.

4 And consumed have been all the host of the heavens, And rolled together as a book have been the heavens, And all their hosts do fade, As the fading of a leaf of a vine, And as the fading one of a fig-tree.

5 For soaked in the heavens was My sword, Lo, on Edom it cometh down, On the people of My curse for judgment.

6 A sword `is' to Jehovah -- it hath been full of blood, It hath been made fat with fatness, With blood of lambs and he-goats. With fat of kidneys of rams, For a sacrifice `is' to Jehovah in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 And come down have reems with them, And bullocks with bulls, And soaked hath been their land from blood, And their dust from fatness is made fat.

8 (For a day of vengeance `is' to Jehovah, A year of recompences for Zion's strife,)

9 And turned have been her streams to pitch, And her dust to brimstone, And her land hath become burning pitch.

10 By night and by day she is not quenched, To the age go up doth her smoke, From generation to generation she is waste, For ever and ever, none is passing into her.

11 And possess her do pelican and hedge-hog, And owl and raven dwell in her, And He hath stretched out over her A line of vacancy, and stones of emptiness.

12 `To' the kingdom her freemen they call, But there are none there, And all her princes are at an end.

13 And gone up her palaces have thorns, Nettle and bramble `are' in her fortresses, And it hath been a habitation of dragons, A court for daughters of an ostrich.

14 And met have Ziim with Aiim, And the goat for its companion calleth, Only there rested hath the night-owl, And hath found for herself a place of rest.

15 There made her nest hath the bittern, Yea, she layeth, and hath hatched, And hath gathered under her shadow, Only there gathered have been vultures, Each with its companion.

16 Seek out of the book of Jehovah, and read, One of these hath not been lacking, None hath missed its companion, For My mouth -- it hath commanded, And His spirit -- He hath gathered them.

17 And He hath cast for them a lot, And His hand hath apportioned `it' to them by line, Unto the age they possess it, To all generations they dwell in it!


Isaiah 34:1-17 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples: let the earth hear, and all its fulness; the world, and all that cometh forth of it.

2 For the wrath of Jehovah is against all the nations, and [his] fury against all their armies: he hath devoted them to destruction, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

3 And their slain shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up from their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 And all the host of the heavens shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as a leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as the withered [fruit] from the fig-tree.

5 For my sword is bathed in the heavens; behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my ban, to judgment.

6 The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 And the buffaloes shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

8 For it is the day of Jehovah's vengeance, the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.

9 And the torrents thereof shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; yea, the land thereof shall become burning pitch:

10 it shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

11 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.

12 Of her nobles who should proclaim the kingdom, none are there; and all her princes shall be nought.

13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in her fortresses; and it shall be a dwelling-place of wild dogs, a court for ostriches.

14 And there shall the beasts of the desert meet with the jackals, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; the lilith also shall settle there, and find for herself a place of rest.

15 There shall the arrow-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow; there also shall the vultures be gathered one with another.

16 Search ye in the book of Jehovah and read: not one of these shall fail, one shall not have to seek for the other; for my mouth, it hath commanded, and his Spirit, it hath gathered them.

17 For he himself hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them with the line: they shall possess it for ever; from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.


Isaiah 34:1-17 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, you peoples: let the earth hear, and the fullness of it; the world, and all things that come forth from it.

2 For Yahweh has indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter.

3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 All the host of the sky shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fades from off the vine, and as a fading [leaf] from the fig tree.

5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky: behold, it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, to judgment.

6 The sword of Yahweh is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 The wild-oxen shall come down with them, and the bulls with the bulls: and their land shall be drunken with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

8 For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 The streams of [Edom] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust of it into sulfur, and the land of it shall become burning pitch.

10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke of it shall go up for ever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.

11 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.

12 They shall call the nobles of it to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 Thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses of it; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

14 The wild animals of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yes, the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest.

15 There shall the dart-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade; yes, there shall the kites be gathered, everyone with her mate.

16 Seek you out of the book of Yahweh, and read: no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate; for my mouth, it has commanded, and his Spirit, it has gathered them.

17 He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them by line: they shall possess it forever; from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.


Isaiah 34:1-17 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Come near, you nations, and give ear; take note, you peoples: let the earth and everything in it give ear; the world and all those living in it.

2 For the Lord is angry with all the nations, and his wrath is burning against all their armies: he has put them to the curse, he has given them to destruction.

3 Their dead bodies will be thick on the face of the earth, and their smell will come up, and the mountains will be flowing with their blood, and all the hills will come to nothing.

4 And the heavens will be rolled together like the roll of a book: and all their army will be gone, like a dead leaf from the vine, or a dry fruit from the fig-tree.

5 For my sword in heaven is full of wrath: see, it is coming down on Edom, in punishment on the people of my curse.

6 The sword of the Lord is full of blood, it is fat with the best of the meat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the best parts of the sheep: for the Lord has a feast in Bozrah, and much cattle will be put to death in the land of Edom.

7 And the strong oxen will go down to death together with the smaller cattle.

8 For it is the day of the Lord's punishment, when he gives payment for the wrongs done to Zion.

9 And its streams will be turned into boiling oil, and its dust into burning stone, and all the land will be on fire.

10 It will not be put out day or night; its smoke will go up for ever: it will be waste from generation to generation; no one will go through it for ever.

11 But the birds of the waste land will have their place there; it will be a heritage for the bittern and the raven: and it will be measured out with line and weight as a waste land.

12 The jackals will be there, and her great ones will be gone; they will say, There is no longer a kingdom there, and all her chiefs will have come to an end.

13 And thorns will come up in her fair houses, and waste plants in her strong towers: and foxes will make their holes there, and it will be a meeting-place for ostriches.

14 And the beasts of the waste places will come together with the jackals, and the evil spirits will be crying to one another, even the night-spirit will come and make her resting-place there.

15 The arrowsnake will make her hole and put her eggs there, and get her young together under her shade: there the hawks will come together by twos.

16 See what is recorded in the book of the Lord: all these will be there, not one without the other: the mouth of the Lord has given the order, and his spirit has made them come together.

17 And he has given them their heritage, and by his hand it has been measured out to them: it will be theirs for ever, their resting-place from generation to generation.

Commentary on Isaiah 34 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 34

Isa 34:1-17. Judgment on Idumea.

The thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth chapters form one prophecy, the former part of which denounces God's judgment against His people's enemies, of whom Edom is the representative; the second part, of the flourishing state of the Church consequent on those judgments. This forms the termination of the prophecies of the first part of Isaiah (the thirty-sixth through thirty-ninth chapters being historical) and is a kind of summary of what went before, setting forth the one main truth, Israel shall be delivered from all its foes, and happier times shall succeed under Messiah.

1. All creation is summoned to hear God's judgments (Eze 6:3; De 32:1; Ps 50:4; Mic 6:1, 2), for they set forth His glory, which is the end of creation (Re 15:3; 4:11).

that come forth of it—answering to "all that is therein"; or Hebrew, "all whatever fills it," Margin.

2. utterly destroyed—rather, "doomed them to an utter curse" [Horsley].

delivered—rather, "appointed."

3. cast out—unburied (Isa 14:19).

melted—washed away as with a descending torrent.

4. (Ps 102:26; Joe 2:31; 3:15; Mt 24:29).

dissolved—(2Pe 3:10-12). Violent convulsions of nature are in Scripture made the images of great changes in the human world (Isa 24:19-21), and shall literally accompany them at the winding up of the present dispensation.

scroll—Books were in those days sheets of parchment rolled together (Re 6:14).

fall down—The stars shall fall when the heavens in which they are fixed pass away.

fig tree—(Re 6:13).

5. sword—(Jer 46:10). Or else, knife for sacrifice for God does not here appear as a warrior with His sword, but as one about to sacrifice victims doomed to slaughter [Vitringa]. (Eze 39:17).

bathed—rather "intoxicated," namely, with anger (so De 32:42). "In heaven" implies the place where God's purpose of wrath is formed in antithesis to its "coming down" in the next clause.

Idumea—originally extending from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea; afterwards they obtained possession of the country east of Moab, of which Bozrah was capital. Petra or Selah, called Joktheel (2Ki 14:7), was capital of South Edom (see on Isa 16:1). David subjugated Edom (2Sa 8:13, 14). Under Jehoram they regained independence (2Ch 21:8). Under Amaziah they were again subdued, and Selah taken (2Ki 14:7). When Judah was captive in Babylon, Edom, in every way, insulted over her fallen mistress, killed many of those Jews whom the Chaldeans had left, and hence was held guilty of fratricide by God (Esau, their ancestor, having been brother to Jacob): this was the cause of the denunciations of the prophets against Edom (Isa 63:1, &c.; Jer 49:7; Eze 25:12-14; 35:3-15; Joe 3:19; Am 1:11, 12; Ob 8, 10, 12-18; Mal 1:3,4). Nebuchadnezzar humbled Idumea accordingly (Jer 25:15-21).

of my curse—that is, doomed to it.

to judgment—that is, to execute it.

6. filled—glutted. The image of a sacrifice is continued.

blood … fat—the parts especially devoted to God in a sacrifice (2Sa 1:22).

lambs … goats—sacrificial animals: the Idumeans, of all classes, doomed to slaughter, are meant (Zep 1:7).

Bozrah—called Bostra by the Romans, &c., assigned in Jer 48:24 to Moab, so that it seems to have been at one time in the dominion of Edom, and at another in that of Moab (Isa 63:1; Jer 49:13, 20, 22); it was strictly not in Edom, but the capital of Auranitis (the Houran). Edom seems to have extended its dominion so as to include it (compare La 4:21).

7. unicorns—Hebrew, reem: conveying the idea of loftiness, power, and pre-eminence (see on Job 39:9), in the Bible. At one time the image in the term answers to a reality in nature; at another it symbolizes an abstraction. The rhinoceros was the original type. The Arab rim is two-horned: it was the oryx (the leucoryx, antelope, bold and pugnacious); but when accident or artifice deprived it of one horn, the notion of the unicorn arose. Here is meant the portion of the Edomites which was strong and warlike.

come down—rather, "fall down," slain [Lowth].

with them—with the "lambs and goats," the less powerful Edomites (Isa 34:6).

bullocks … bulls—the young and old Edomites: all classes.

dust—ground.

8. recompenses for the controversy of Zion—that is, the year when God will retaliate on those who have contended with Zion. Her controversy is His. Edom had thought to extend its borders by laying hold of its neighbor's lands and has instigated Babylon to cruelty towards fallen Judah (Ps 137:7; Eze 36:5); therefore Edom shall suffer the same herself (La 4:21, 22). The final winding up of the controversy between God and all enemies of Him and His people is also foreshadowed (Isa 61:2; 63:4; 66:14-16; Mal 4:1, 3; 2Th 1:7, 8, 9; Re 11:18; 18:20; 19:2).

9. Images from the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 19:24-28; so De 29:23; Jer 49:17, 18).

10. It—The burning pitch, &c. (Isa 34:9).

smoke … for ever—(Re 14:11; 18:18; 19:3).

generation to generation—(Mal 1:4).

none … pass through—Edom's original offense was: they would not let Israel pass through their land in peace to Canaan: God recompenses them in kind, no traveller shall pass through Edom. Volney, the infidel, was forced to confirm the truth of this prophecy: "From the reports of the Arabs, southeast of the Dead Sea, within three days' journey are upwards of thirty ruined towns, absolutely deserted."

11. cormorant—The Hebrew is rendered, in Ps 102:6, "pelican," which is a seafowl, and cannot be meant here: some waterfowl (katta, according to Burckhardt) that tenants desert places is intended.

bittern—rather, "the hedgehog," or "porcupine" [Gesenius] (Isa 14:23).

owl—from its being enumerated among water birds in Le 11:17; De 14:16. Maurer thinks rather the heron or crane is meant; from a Hebrew root, "to blow," as it utters a sound like the blowing of a horn (Re 18:2).

confusion—devastation.

line … stones—metaphor from an architect with line and plummet-stone (see on Isa 18:2; Isa 28:17); God will render to it the exact measure of justice without mercy (Jas 2:13; 2Ki 21:13; La 2:8; Am 7:7, 8).

emptiness—desolation. Edom is now a waste of "stones."

12. Rather, "As to her nobles, there shall be none there who shall declare a kingdom," that is, a king [Maurer]; or else, "There shall be no one there whom they shall call to the kingdom" [Rosenmuller] (Isa 3:6, &c.). Idumea was at first governed by dukes (Ge 36:15); out of them the king wan chosen when the constitution became a monarchy.

13. dragons—(See on Isa 13:21; Isa 13:22).

court for owls—rather, "a dwelling for ostriches."

14. wild beasts of the desert … island—rather, "wild cats … jackals" (Isa 13:21).

screech owl—rather, "the night specter"; in Jewish superstition a female, elegantly dressed, that carried off children by night. The text does not assert the existence of such objects of superstition, but describes the place as one which superstition would people with such beings.

15. great owl—rather, "the arrow snake," so called from its darting on its prey [Gesenius].

lay—namely, eggs.

gather under her shadow—rather, "cherishes" her young under, &c. (Jer 17:11).

16. book of the Lord—the volume in which the various prophecies and other parts of Scripture began henceforward to be collected together (Isa 30:8; Da 9:2).

Seek—(so Isa 8:16, 20; Joh 5:39; 7:52).

no one … fail—of these prophecies (Mt 5:18).

none shall want … mate—image from pairing of animals mentioned, Isa 34:15 ("mate"); no prediction shall want a fulfilment as its companion. Or rather, "none of these wild animals (just spoken of) shall be wanting: none shall be without its mate" to pair and breed with, in desolate Idumea.

my … his—Such changes of person are frequent in Hebrew poetry.

them—the wild beasts.

17. cast … lot—As conquerors apportion lands by lot, so Jehovah has appointed and marked out ("divided") Edom for the wild beasts (Nu 26:55, 56; Jos 18:4-6).