Isaiah 14:23

Myles Coverdale Bible

& wil geue it to the Otters, and wil make water poddels of it. And I wil swepe them out with the besome of destruccion, sayeth the LORDE of hoostes.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“I will make her a swampland and a region for herons, and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”

Hebrew Names Version
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of Hosts.

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.

English Standard Version
"And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.

New American Standard Bible
"I will also make it the property of the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of armies.

New Century Version
"I will make Babylon fit only for owls and for swamps. I will sweep Babylon as with a broom of destruction," says the Lord All-Powerful.

Amplified Bible
"I will also make Babylon a possession of the hedgehog and of swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of hosts.

World English Bible
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says Yahweh of Hosts.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And I wil make it a possession to ye hedgehogge, and pooles of water, and I will sweepe it with the besome of destruction, sayeth the Lorde of hostes.

Legacy Standard Bible
"I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares Yahweh of hosts.

Berean Standard Bible
"I will make her a place for owls and swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of Hosts.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord will sweep out the people, and the land will become a swamp for wild animals.

Complete Jewish Bible
"I will make it a haunt for hedgehogs, it will become a swampy waste, I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says Adonai -Tzva'ot.

Darby Translation
And 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.

Easy-to-Read Version
"I will change Babylon. It will be a place for animals, not people. It will be a swamp. I will use the ‘broom of destruction' to sweep Babylon away." The Lord All-Powerful said this.

George Lamsa Translation
I will also make it a possession for owls, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts.

Good News Translation
I will turn Babylon into a marsh, and owls will live there. I will sweep Babylon with a broom that will sweep everything away. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken."

Lexham English Bible
"And I will make her a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction," declares Yahweh of hosts.

Literal Translation
Also I will make it a possession of the hedgehog and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the broom of ruin, says Jehovah of Hosts.

American Standard Version
I 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.

Bible in Basic English
And 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.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
I will also make it a possession for the Bitterne, and pooles of water: and I will sweepe it with the besome of destruction, sayth the Lord of hostes.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I wyll geue it to the Otters, and wyll make water puddels of it, and I wyll sweepe them out with the besome of destruction saith the Lorde of hoastes.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I will make the region of Babylon desert, so that hedgehogs shall dwell there, and it shall come to nothing: and I will make it a pit of clay for destruction.

English Revised Version
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y schal sette that Babiloyne in to possessioun of an irchoun, and in to mareisis of watris; and Y schal swepe it with a beesme, and Y schal stampe, seith the Lord of oostis.

Update Bible Version
I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, says Yahweh of hosts.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

New English Translation
"I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom," says the Lord who commands armies.

New King James Version
"I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," says the LORD of hosts.

New Living Translation
"I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!"

New Life Bible
"I will turn it into a place for hedgehogs, full of pools of water. And I will go over it and destroy it," says the Lord of All.

New Revised Standard
And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of hosts.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And will make her a possession for the bittern, And marshes of water, - And will sweep it with the besom of destruction, Declareth Yahweh of hosts.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will make it a possession for the ericius and pools of waters, and I will sweep it and wear it out with a besom, saith the Lord of hosts.

Revised Standard Version
And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts."

Young's Literal Translation
And 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!

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD of hosts.

Contextual Overview

⁴ then shalt thou vse this mockage vpon ye kinge of Babilon, & saye: How happeneth it yt ye oppressour leaueth of? It ye golden tribute come to an ende? ⁵ Doutles the LORDE hath broken the staff of the vngodly, & the cepter of ye lordly. ⁶ Which whe he is wroth, smyteth ye people wt durable strokes, & in his woders he persecuteth the, & tameth the cotinually. ⁷ And therfore ye whole worlde is now at rest and quyetnesse, & men synge for ioye. ⁸ Yee euen the Fyrre trees and Cedres of Libanus reioyse at thy fall, sayenge: Now yt thou art layde downe, there come no mo vp to destroye vs. ⁹ Hell also trembleth at thy commynge, All mightie men and prynces of the earth, steppe forth before the. All kynges of the earth stonde vp fro their seates, ¹⁰ that they maye all (one after another) synge and speake vnto the. Art thou wounded also as we? art thou become like vnto vs? ¹¹ Thy pompe and thy pryde is gone downe to hell: Mothes shalbe layde vnder the, & wormes shalbe thy coueringe. ¹² How art thou fallen from heauen (o Lucifer) thou faire mornige childe? hast thou gotten a fall euen to the grounde, thou that (notwithstondinge) dyddest subdue the people? ¹³ And yet thou thoughtest in thine harte: I will clymme vp in to heauen, and make my seate aboue the starres of God, I wyll syt vpon the glorious mount toward the North,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

make: Isaiah 13:21, Isaiah 13:22, Isaiah 34:11-15, Jeremiah 50:39, Jeremiah 50:40, Jeremiah 51:42, Jeremiah 51:43, Zephaniah 2:14, Revelation 14:8, Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:21-23

I will sweep: 1 Kings 14:10, 2 Kings 21:13, Jeremiah 51:25, Jeremiah 51:26

Reciprocal: Job 12:14 - he breaketh Psalms 9:6 - memorial Psalms 149:9 - to execute Isaiah 13:20 - General Isaiah 21:1 - the desert Isaiah 25:2 - For Isaiah 25:12 - to the dust Isaiah 27:7 - he smitten Isaiah 32:19 - the city shall be low Isaiah 47:5 - silent Isaiah 47:9 - they shall come Jeremiah 25:12 - perpetual Jeremiah 27:7 - until Jeremiah 49:33 - a dwelling Jeremiah 50:26 - destroy Jeremiah 51:29 - every Jeremiah 51:37 - become Jeremiah 51:62 - to cut Nahum 2:10 - empty

Cross-References

Genesis 14:9
wt Kedorlaomer the kynge of Elam, & with Thideal ye kynge of the Heithen, & with Amraphel ye kynge of Synear, & with Arioch the kynge of Ellasar: foure kynges wt fyue.

Genesis 14:12
They toke Lot also Abrams brothers sonne, & his good (for he dwelt at Sodome) and departed.

Genesis 14:15
& deuyded the, & fell vpo them by night wt his seruauntes, and smote the, and chased them awaye vnto Hoba, which lieth on ye left hande of the cite of Damascos,

Genesis 14:16
and brought agayne all the goodes, and also his brother Lot, and his goodes, ye wemen also and the people.

1 Kings 13:8
But the man of God sayde vnto the kynge: Yf thou geuest me halfe thy house, I wil not come with the: for in this place wyll I nether eate bred, ner drynke water.

2 Kings 5:16
Neuertheles he sayde: As truly as the LORDE lyueth, before whom I stonde, I wil not take it. And he wolde nedes haue him to take it, but he wolde not.

2 Kings 5:20
Gehasi the seruaunt of Eliseus ye man of God thoughte: beholde, my lorde hath spared Naama this Syrian, so that he hath not taken from him yt which he broughte: As truly as ye LORDE lyueth, I wil rune after him, & take somthinge of him.

2 Corinthians 12:14
Beholde, I am ready the thirde tyme to come vnto you, and wyl not be chargeable vnto you. For I seke not youres, but you. For ye childre ought not to gather treasure for the elders, but the elders for the children.

Hebrews 13:5
Let youre conuersacion be without couetousnes, and be content with that ye haue allready, for he hath sayde: I wyl not fayle the nether forsake the,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I will also make it a possession for the bittern,.... Instead of being possessed by any of the family of the king of Babylon. The "bittern" is a kind of water fowl, which, by putting its bill into mire, or a broken reed, is said to make a most horrible noise. Some think the "owl" is meant, which dwells in desolate and ruinous places; and others take it to be the "ospray", a sort of eagle that preys upon fish and ducks; according to Kimchi, the "tortoise" is meant; some will have it that the "beaver" or castor is intended; Jarchi understands it of the porcupine or "hedgehog"; and in the Arabic language this creature is called "kunphud", which is pretty near the Hebrew word "kippod", here used; to which Bochartus agrees; but, whatever creature is meant, the design is to show that Babylon should not be inhabited by men, but by birds or beasts of prey, or noxious animals; and so mystical Babylon is said to be a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Revelation 18:2:

and pools of water; Babylon being situated in a marshy ground, and by the river Euphrates; and when that river was turned by Cyrus i, and afterwards its banks neglected, in course of time the water overflowed the place where the city was, and all about it, and so easily came to be what is here predicted it should; see Revelation 18:21:

and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts; and so clear it at once of all its inhabitants, wealth, and riches, and entirely remove its large walls and stately buildings, no more to be seen, just as a house is swept clean of all its dust; intimating, that this superb city, and all belonging to it, should be reduced to dust, and be as easily swept away as dust is with a besom. The word for "sweep", and a "besom", is only used in this place, and has this signification in the Arabic language; it is said in the Talmud k, that the Rabbins knew not the meaning of this word, till they heard an Arabian girl say to her fellow servant,

"take this besom, and sweep the house.''

expressing the word here used.

i Xenophon. Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 23. k Roshhashana, fol. 26. 2. Megilla, fol. 18. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will also make it a possession for the bittern - The word ‘bittern,’ in English, means a bird with long legs and neck, that stalks among reeds and sedge, feeding upon fish. The Hebrew word (קפד qı̂ppod), occurs but five times Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14. According to Bochart and Gesenius, it means the hedgehog. It has been variously rendered. Some have supposed it to be a land animal; some an aquatic animal; and most have regarded it as a fowl. Bochart has proved that the hedgehog or porcupine is found on the shores of the Euphrates. He translates this place, ‘I will place Babylon for an habitation of the porcupine, even the pools of water;’ that is, the pools that are round about Babylon shall become so dry that porcupines may dwell there (see Bochart, “Hieroz.” iii. 36. pp. 1036-1042).

And pools of water - Bochart supposes this means, even the pools of water shall become dry. But the common interpretation is to be preferred, that Babylon itself should become filled with pools of water. This was done by Cyrus’ directing the waters of the Euphrates from their channel when the city was taken, and by the fact that the waters never returned again to their natural bed, so that the region was overflowed with water (see the notes at Isaiah 13:0.)

And I will sweep it with the besom of destruction - A besom is a broom; and the sense here is, that God would entirely destroy Babylon, and render it wholly uninbabitable.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 14:23. 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. Jeremiah 10:11. 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."