Isaiah 34:13

13 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.

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 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.

12 Of her nobles who should proclaim the kingdom, none are there; and all her princes shall be nought.

13 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.

14 And there shall the beasts of the desert meet with the jackals, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; the lilith also shall settle there, and find for herself a place of rest.

15 There shall the arrow-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow; there also shall the vultures be gathered one with another.