11 The desert owl[a](A) and screech owl[b] will possess it;
    the great owl[c] and the raven(B) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(C)
    the measuring line of chaos(D)
    and the plumb line(E) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes(F) will vanish(G) away.
13 Thorns(H) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.(I)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(J)
    a home for owls.(K)
14 Desert creatures(L) will meet with hyenas,(M)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(N) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;(O)
there also the falcons(P) will gather,
    each with its mate.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.

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.

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