Isaiah 14 · Verse 23

Isaiah 14:23

I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
Isaiah 14:23, King James Version

Isaiah 14:23 in other translations

BSB“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
WEB“I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water. I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the LORD of Armies.
ASVI will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts.
YLTAnd have made it for a possession of a bittern, And ponds of waters, And daubed it with the mire of destruction, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!
DARBYAnd I will make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts.
BBEAnd I will make you a heritage for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will go through it with the brush of destruction, says the Lord of armies.
WebsterI will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

What does Isaiah 14:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. bittern--rather, "the hedgehog" [Maurer and Gesenius]. Strabo (16:1) states that enormous hedgehogs were found in the islands of the Euphrates. pools--owing to Cyrus turning the waters of the Euphrates over the country. besom--sweep-net [Maurer], (1Ki 14:10; 2Ki 21:13).

Is 14:24-27. A Fragment as to the Destruction of the Assyrians under Sennacherib.

This would comfort the Jews when captives in Babylon, being a pledge that God, who had by that time fulfilled the promise concerning Sennacherib (though now still future), would also fulfil His promise as to destroying Babylon, Judah's enemy.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 I will sweep it with the besom of destruction "I will plunge it in the miry gulf of destruction" - I have here very nearly followed the Version of the Septuagint; the reasons for which see in the last note on De Poesi Hebr. Praelect, xxviii. The besom of destruction, as our Version renders it. במטאטא bematate. This, says Kimchi, is a Chaldee word: and it is worthy of remark that the prophet, writing to the Chaldeans, uses several words peculiar to their own language to point out the nature of the Divine judgments, and the causes of them. See the note on Jer 10:11 (note). Sixteen of Kennicott's MSS., and seventeen of De Rossi's, and one ancient of my own, have the word במטאטי bematatey, in the plural. "I will sweep her with the besoms of destruction."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 14:1-23

The destruction of Babylon, and the death of its proud monarch. (Is. 14:1-23) Assurance of the destruction of Assyria. (Is. 14:24-27) The destruction of the Philistines. (Is. 14:28-32) Verses 1-23 The whole plan of Divine Providence is arranged with a view to the good of the people of God. A settlement in the land of promise is of God's mercy. Let the church receive those whom God receives. God's people, wherever…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 14:1-23 →

Isaiah 14:23 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.

וְשַׂמְתִּ֛יהָve.sam.Ti.haand I will make itH7760
לְמוֹרַ֥שׁle.mo.Rash<into> a possession ofH4180
קִפֹּ֖דki.Podhedgehog[s]H7090
וְאַגְמֵי\־ve.'ag.mei-and reed-pools ofH98
מָ֑יִםMa.yimwaterH4325
וְטֵֽאטֵאתִ֙יהָ֙ve.te.te.Ti.haand I will sweep away itH2894
בְּמַטְאֲטֵ֣אbe.mat.'a.Te'with a broom ofH4292
הַשְׁמֵ֔דhash.MeddestructionH8045
נְאֻ֖םne.'Um[the] utterance ofH5002
יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahwehH3068
צְבָאֽוֹת\׃\ \פtze.va.'otof hostsH6635

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

Cross references for Isaiah 14:23

  • Zephaniah 2:14

    And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

  • Isaiah 13:21-22

    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. 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.

  • 1 Kings 14:10

    Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

  • 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. …

  • Revelation 14:8

    And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

  • 2 Kings 21:13

    And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

  • 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.

  • Jeremiah 51:42-43

    The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

  • Revelation 18:21-23

    And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

  • Jeremiah 51:25-26

    Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 50:39-40

    Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
make.
13:21,22; 34:11-15; Jer 50:39,40; 51:42,43; Zep 2:14; Re 14:8
Re 18:2,21-23
I will sweep.
1Ki 14:10; 2Ki 21:13; Jer 51:25,26

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

Context

  • Isaiah 14:22

    For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.

  • Isaiah 14:23

    I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Isaiah 14:24

    The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

Read all of Isaiah 14

Isaiah 14:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y convertiréla en posesión de erizos, y en lagunas de agua; y la barreré con escobas de destrucción, dice Jehová de los ejércitos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et j’en ferai une possession du butor, et des mares d’eau; et je la balaierai avec le balai de la destruction, dit l’ Éternel des armées.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich werde es zum Besitztum der Igel machen und zu Wassersümpfen; und ich werde es ausfegen mit dem Besen der Vertilgung, spricht Jehova der Heerscharen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et ponam eam in possessionem ericii, et in paludes aquarum, et scopabo eam in scopa terens, dicit Dominus exercituum.