Isaiah 34:11

11 It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven. For God will measure that land carefully; he will measure it for chaos and destruction.

Isaiah 34:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 34:11

But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it
The word for "cormorant" is rendered a "pelican", in ( Psalms 102:6 ) they were both unclean fowls according to the law, of which see ( Leviticus 11:17 Leviticus 11:18 ) and (See Gill on Isaiah 14:23):

the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it;
which were likewise unclean creatures; and these, with the former, and other creatures after mentioned, delight to dwell in desolate and ruinous places; and so Babylon or Rome being destroyed, will become a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, ( Revelation 18:2 ) :

and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion and the
stones of emptiness;
"he", that is, God, as Kimchi interprets it; the allusion is to builders, that make use of the line and plummet, as to build, so to pull down, that they may know what is to be pulled down, and how far they are to go; see ( 2 Kings 21:13 ) and hereby it is signified, that as the destruction should be entire, nothing should be left but confusion and emptiness; and all should become "tohu" and "bohu", which are the words used here; and are the same that are used to express the confused chaos, the unformed and empty earth, ( Genesis 1:2 ) so likewise that it should be by line and level, by rule and measure; or according to the rules of justice and equity.

Isaiah 34:11 In-Context

9 The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire.

10 This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore.

11 It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven. For God will measure that land carefully; he will measure it for chaos and destruction.

12 It will be called the Land of Nothing, and all its nobles will soon be gone.

13 Thorns will overrun its palaces; nettles and thistles will grow in its forts. The ruins will become a haunt for jackals and a home for owls.

Footnotes

• [a]. The identification of some of these birds is uncertain.