Bible Strands
Isaiah 14:23
“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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts pronounces final judgment on Babylon immediately after declaring He will erase the nation's name and remnant in Isaiah 14:22 and just before swearing His purposed plan will stand in Isaiah 14:24.
The words — The Hebrew verb שַׂמְתִּי (sam.ti) literally means "I will make," while the noun קִפּוֹד (qi.ppod) denotes "hedgehog[s]" and the term מַטְאֲטֵא (mat.'a.te) refers to a "broom" used for sweeping.
The thread — The motif of desolate cities becoming habitats for wild creatures recurs in Isaiah 13:21 and Zephaniah 2:14, where ruined capitals are left to desert animals and owls.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge that human arrogance will be permanently replaced by ecological ruin and that God’s spoken judgment executes exactly as declared.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Zephaniah 2:14 Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.
- 1 Kings 14:10 Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!
- Isaiah 13:21 But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.
- Isaiah 34:11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
- Revelation 14:8 Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- 2 Kings 21:13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
- Jeremiah 51:25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you; I will roll you over the cliffs and turn you into a charred mountain.
- Jeremiah 51:42 The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves.
- Revelation 18:2 And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
- Revelation 18:21 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.