Isaiah 13 · Verse 21

Isaiah 13:21

But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
Isaiah 13:21, King James Version

Isaiah 13:21 in other translations

BSBBut desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.
WEBBut wild animals of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will frolic there.
ASVBut wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there.
YLTAnd Ziim have lain down there, And full have been their houses of howlings, And dwelt there have daughters of an ostrich, And goats do skip there.
DARBYBut beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of owls; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there.
BBEBut the beasts of the waste land will have their holes there; and the houses will be full of crying jackals, and ostriches will have their place there, and evil spirits will be dancing there.
WebsterBut wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

What does Isaiah 13:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. wild beasts--Hebrew, tsiyim, animals dwelling in arid wastes. Wild cats, remarkable for their howl [Bochart]. doleful creatures--"howling beasts," literally, "howlings" [Maurer]. owls--rather, "ostriches"; a timorous creature, delighting in solitary deserts and making a hideous noise [Bochart]. satyrs--sylvan demi-gods--half man, half goat--believed by the Arabs to haunt these ruins; probably animals of the goat-ape species [Vitringa]. Devil-worshippers, who dance amid the ruins on a certain night [J. Wolff].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 Satyrs - A kind of beast like to man, which is called מרמוטש marmots, a monkey. - Rabbi Parchon.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 13:19-22

Babylon was a noble city; yet it should be wholly destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled. The fate of this proud city is a proof of the truth of the Bible, and an emblem of the approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; a warning to sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls, and of…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 13:19-22 →

Isaiah 13:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְרָבְצוּ\־ve.ra.ve.tzu-and they will lie downH7257
שָׁ֣םshamthereH8033
צִיִּ֔יםtzi.Yimdesert-dwellersH6728
וּמָלְא֥וּu.mal.'Uand they will be fullH4390
בָתֵּיהֶ֖םva.tei.Hemhouses theirH1004
אֹחִ֑ים'o.ChimjackalsH255
וְשָׁ֤כְנוּve.Sha.khe.nuand they will dwellH7931
שָׁם֙shamthereH8033
בְּנ֣וֹתbe.Notdaughters ofH1323
יַֽעֲנָ֔הya.'a.Nahan ostrichH3284
וּשְׂעִירִ֖יםu.se.'i.Rimand goatsH8163
יְרַקְּדוּ\־ye.ra.ke.du-they will leap aboutH7540
שָֽׁם\׃ShamthereH8033

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 13:21

  • Revelation 18:2

    And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

  • Isaiah 34:11-15

    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. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. 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. 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. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
But.
34:11-15; Re 18:2
wild beasts. Heb. Ziim. doleful creatures. Heb. Ochim.owls. or, ostriches. Heb. daughters of the owl.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 13:20

    It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

  • Isaiah 13:21

    But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

  • Isaiah 13:22

    And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

Read all of Isaiah 13

Isaiah 13:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Sino que dormirán allí bestias fieras, y sus casas se llenarán de hurones, allí habitarán hijas del buho, y allí saltarán peludos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		mais les bêtes du désert y auront leur gîte, et les hiboux rempliront ses maisons, et les autruches y feront leur demeure, et les boucs sauvages y sauteront;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Aber Wüstentiere werden dort lagern, und Uhus ihre Häuser füllen; und Strauße werden dort wohnen und Böcke dort hüpfen;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Sed requiescent ibi bestiæ, et replebuntur domus eorum draconibus, et habitabunt ibi struthiones, et pilosi saltabunt ibi;