Isaiah 34:13

13 Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns; her fortified cities, with thistles and briers. She will become a dwelling for jackals, an abode^[a] for ostriches.

Isaiah 34:13 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 34:13

And thorns shall come up in her palaces
Where their kings and princes dwelt, and kept their courts, popes and cardinals; here will be the tokens of God's curse, as thorns are, these being the people of his curse, as in ( Isaiah 34:5 ) : nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof;
alluding to "Bozrah" which signifies a fortress; referring to the towers and fortifications of the city of Rome, and all other fortified cities within its jurisdiction: and it shall be a habitation of dragons;
literally, as it figuratively had been the seat of the old dragon, the devil, and of the beast to whom the dragon gave his power, seat, and authority; and who, though he looked like a lamb, spoke like a dragon, ( Revelation 12:3 ) ( Revelation 13:2 Revelation 13:11 ) : [and] a court for owls;
or, "daughters of the owl"; or "ostriches", as some render it.

Isaiah 34:13 In-Context

11 The desert owl and the hedgehog will possess it, and the great owl and the raven will dwell there. [The Lord] will stretch out a measuring line and a plumb line over her for [her] destruction and chaos.

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. She will become a dwelling for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

14 The wild beasts 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 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. DSS, LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads jackals, grass