Isaiah 34 · Verse 13

Isaiah 34:13

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.
Isaiah 34:13, King James Version

Isaiah 34:13 in other translations

BSBHer towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.
WEBThorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
ASVAnd thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
YLTAnd gone up her palaces have thorns, Nettle and bramble are in her fortresses, And it hath been a habitation of dragons, A court for daughters of an ostrich.
DARBYAnd 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.
BBEAnd thorns will come up in her fair houses, and waste plants in her strong towers: and foxes will make their holes there, and it will be a meeting-place for ostriches.
WebsterAnd thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in her fortresses, and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

What does Isaiah 34:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. dragons--(See on Is 13:21; Is 13:22). court for owls--rather, "a dwelling for ostriches."

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces - ועלו בארמנותיה vealu bearmenotheyha; so read all the ancient versions. A court for owls - יענה yaanah, the ostrich, from ענה anah, to cry, because of the noise it makes. "They roar, "says Dr. Shaw, "sometimes like a lion - sometimes like a bull. I have often heard them groan as if in the utmost distress."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 34:9-17

Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 34:9-17 →

Isaiah 34:13 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.

וְעָלְתָ֤הve.'al.Tahand it will grow upH5927
אַרְמְנֹתֶ֙יהָ֙'ar.me.no.Tei.hafortresses itsH759
סִירִ֔יםsi.RimthornsH5518
קִמּ֥וֹשׂki.Mosnettle[s]H7057
וָח֖וֹחַva.Cho.achand thornbush[es]H2336
בְּמִבְצָרֶ֑יהָbe.miv.tza.Rei.ha[will be] on fortifications itsH4013
וְהָיְתָה֙ve.ha.ye.Tahand it will beH1961
נְוֵ֣הne.Veha habitation ofH5116
תַנִּ֔יםta.NimjackalsH8577
חָצִ֖ירcha.TzirgrassH2681
לִבְנ֥וֹתliv.Notfor daughters ofH1323
יַעֲנָֽה\׃ya.'a.Nahan ostrichH3284

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

Cross references for Isaiah 34:13

  • Jeremiah 9:11

    And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

  • Jeremiah 10:22

    Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

  • Malachi 1:3

    And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

  • Psalms 44:19

    Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

  • Hosea 9:6

    For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.

  • Jeremiah 51:37

    And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

  • Isaiah 32:13-14

    Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

  • Isaiah 35:7

    And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

  • Zephaniah 2:9

    Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

  • 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.

  • Jeremiah 49:33

    And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

  • 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
thorns.
32:13,14; Ho 9:6; Zep 2:9
an habitation.
13:21,22; 35:7; Jer 9:11; 10:22; 49:33; 50:39,40; 51:37; Mal 1:3
Re 18:2,20-24
owls. or, ostriches. Heb. daughters of the owl.

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

Context

  • Isaiah 34:12

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

  • Isaiah 34:13

    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.

  • Isaiah 34:14

    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.

Read all of Isaiah 34

Isaiah 34:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
En sus alcázares crecerán espinas, y ortigas y cardos en sus fortalezas; y serán morada de chacales, patio para los pollos de los avestruces.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Des épines croîtront dans ses palais, des orties et des ronces dans ses forteresses; et il sera le repaire des chiens sauvages, le parc des autruches.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und in seinen Palästen schießen Dornen auf, Nesseln und Disteln in seinen Burgen; und es wird zur Wohnstätte der Schakale, zur Wohnung der Strauße.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et orientur in domibus ejus spinæ et urticæ, et paliurus in munitionibus ejus; et erit cubile draconum, et pascua struthionum.