The Meaning of Isaiah 34:11 Explained

Isaiah 34:11

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.

YLT: 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.

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.

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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 34:11 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 34:1-17 - Reaping The Whirlwind
This chapter is one prolonged description of the judgments which were to befall the nations at the hand of Assyria and Babylon. The imagery employed is borrowed from the destruction of the cities of the plain. Streams of pitch; dust of brimstone; the ever-ascending smoke of a furnace; the scream of the eagle, hawk, and owl; the invasion of palaces by the thistle; the howl of the wolf; the call of the jackal; the arrow-snakes nest; the kite with its mate-such are the illustrations employed to depict the scorching desolations which were impending. Edom is especially mentioned as suffering these awful desolations because of her long-standing hatred of Israel. See Psalms 137:7; Ezekiel 36:5; Lamentations 4:21-22. These terrible and graphic predictions have been literally fulfilled, but they foreshadow those further and eternal disasters which must overtake willful and designed rejection of the divine purposes and laws. Are not all nations at this hour standing before the Son of man and being judged? See Matthew 25:31. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 34

1  The judgments wherewith God revenges his church
11  The desolation of her enemies
16  The certainty of the prophecy

What do the individual words in Isaiah 34:11 mean?

But shall possess it the pelican and the porcupine and 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
וִירֵשׁ֙וּהָ֙ קָאַ֣ת וְקִפּ֔וֹד וְיַנְשׁ֥וֹף וְעֹרֵ֖ב יִשְׁכְּנוּ־ בָ֑הּ וְנָטָ֥ה עָלֶ֛יהָ קַֽו־ תֹ֖הוּ וְאַבְנֵי־ בֹֽהוּ

וִירֵשׁ֙וּהָ֙  But  shall  possess  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural, third person feminine singular
Root: יָרַשׁ  
Sense: to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir.
קָאַ֣ת  the  pelican 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קָאַת  
Sense: a ceremonially unclean bird.
וְקִפּ֔וֹד  and  the  porcupine 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קִפֹּד  
Sense: porcupine, hedgehog.
וְיַנְשׁ֥וֹף  and  the  owl 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַנְשׁוּף  
Sense: great owl, eared owl.
וְעֹרֵ֖ב  and  the  raven 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹרֵב  
Sense: raven.
יִשְׁכְּנוּ־  shall  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁכַן  
Sense: to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside.
בָ֑הּ  in  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
וְנָטָ֥ה  and  He  shall  stretch  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
עָלֶ֛יהָ  over  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
קַֽו־  the  line 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קָו 
Sense: cord, line, measuring-line.
תֹ֖הוּ  of  confusion 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: תֹּהוּ  
Sense: formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness.
וְאַבְנֵי־  and  the  stones 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
בֹֽהוּ  of  emptiness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּהוּ  
Sense: emptiness, void, waste.