The Meaning of Isaiah 34:13 Explained

Isaiah 34:13

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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.

Darby: 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.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 34:13 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 34:13 mean?

And shall come up in its palaces thorns Nettles and brambles in its fortresses and it shall be a habitation of jackals a courtyard for ostriches
וְעָלְתָ֤ה אַרְמְנֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ סִירִ֔ים קִמּ֥וֹשׂ וָח֖וֹחַ בְּמִבְצָרֶ֑יהָ וְהָיְתָה֙ נְוֵ֣ה תַנִּ֔ים חָצִ֖יר לִבְנ֥וֹת יַעֲנָֽה

וְעָלְתָ֤ה  And  shall  come  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
אַרְמְנֹתֶ֙יהָ֙  in  its  palaces 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אַרְמֹון  
Sense: citadel, palace, fortress.
סִירִ֔ים  thorns 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: סִיר 
Sense: pot.
קִמּ֥וֹשׂ  Nettles 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קִמֹּושׂ  
Sense: thistles or nettles, a thorny or useless plant.
וָח֖וֹחַ  and  brambles 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹוחַ  
Sense: thorn, brier, bramble, thornbush, thicket.
בְּמִבְצָרֶ֑יהָ  in  its  fortresses 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מִבְצָר 
Sense: fortification, fortress, fortified city, stronghold.
וְהָיְתָה֙  and  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
נְוֵ֣ה  a  habitation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נָוֶה 
Sense: abode, habitation, abode of shepherds or flocks, pasture.
תַנִּ֔ים  of  jackals 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: תַּנִּין  
Sense: dragon, serpent, sea monster.
חָצִ֖יר  a  courtyard 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָצִיר  
Sense: a dwelling, an abode, settled abode, haunt.
יַעֲנָֽה  ostriches 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: יַעֲנָה  
Sense: an unclean bird.