39 Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The birds of the forest with the beasts of the forest, are rendered by some, "the satyrs with the fairies;" but 'yym, aiim, as well as tsyym, tsiim, are, on the contrary, birds or beasts of the forest. Some render 'yym, aiim, "cats " I hold no controversy as to these words -- let there be a free judgment to every one; but, as we have elsewhere seen, the Prophet means birds and beasts of the forest, rather than satyrs and fairies. Then he adds, the daughters of the ostriches, rendered by some "of the owls;" but about this name also I will not contend. Some then render ynh, ione, "owl," and refinedly explain that "daughters" are mentioned, because these birds forsake their young, when they howl through want or famine; but this is fictitious. I then take the daughters of the ostriches or of the owls, according to the usual manner of the language, to mean the very birds themselves. [1] The Prophets usually speak thus, when they give no hope. We have said before, that Babylon was not then so laid waste, but that men dwelt there, who afterwards lived in great luxury; for the city, under Cyrus and his son, was always populous; and then, after its revolt, it was again inhabited; and when Alexander subdued Asia, Babylon was full of people, and flourished in luxury and wealth; and when he died there, he left the city very opulent. We hence, then, conclude, that what Jeremiah declares here, was not immediately fulfilled. But as the light or moderate punishments which the unbelieving suffer now are certain preludes of final and eternal destruction; so the Prophets, when speaking of God's vengeance, ever extend what they say to the last overthrow; and this also appears more clearly from the next verse, where it is said, --
1 - As to the two first words, the versions and the Targ. widely differ. According to Bochart, the first word, tsyym, means "wild cats," and the second, 'yym, jackals. The Vulg., the Syr., and the Targ. render the other word, ynh, the same, "the ostrich;" and this is the general opinion. -- Ed.
Wild beasts of the islands - Jackals.
Owls - Ostriches (marginal reference note).
The wild beasts of the desert - Dahler translates these various terms, "The wild cats, the jackals, and the ostriches." And Blayney the same. Wicklif, "Dragons, woodewoses, and ostriches." Coverdale, "Wild beestes, apes, and estriches."
Therefore the (b) wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the isles shall dwell [there], and the owls shall dwell in it: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
(b) Read (Isaiah 13:21).
Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there,.... Of these creatures See Gill on Isaiah 13:21; and See Gill on Isaiah 13:22;
and the owls shall dwell therein; so mystical Babylon when fallen shall become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Revelation 18:2;
and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; interpreters observe that this was gradually accomplished: it was taken by Cyrus, and made tributary to the Persians; the seat of the empire was removed from it; its walls were demolished by Darius; it was drained both of its inhabitants and its riches through Seleucus Nicator building the city Seleucia (r) near it. In Adrian's time there was nothing but an old wall left; and in Jerom's time it was a park for the king of Persia to hunt in; See Gill on Jeremiah 50:13; and See Gill on Isaiah 13:20;
(r) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26.
wild beasts of the desert--wild cats, remarkable for their howl [BOCHART].
wild beasts of the islands--jackals (See on Isaiah 13:21).
owls--rather, "female ostriches"; they delight in solitary places. Literally, "daughters of crying." Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Revelation 18:2.
no more inhabited for ever--The accumulation of phrases is to express the final and utter extinction of Babylon; fulfilled not immediately, but by degrees; Cyrus took away its supremacy. Darius Hystaspes deprived it, when it had rebelled, of its fortifications. Seleucus Nicanor removed its citizens and wealth to Seleucia, which he founded in the neighborhood; and the Parthians removed all that was left to Ctesiphon. Nothing but its walls was left under the Roman emperor Adrian.
Therefore shall Babylon become an eternal waste, where none but beasts of the desert find shelter, where no human being dwells. This threat is formed out of reminiscences from Isaiah 13:20-22 and Isaiah 34:14. For ציּים and איּים, see on Isaiah 34:14; for בּנות יענה, see on Isaiah 13:21. The second half of the verse agrees word for word with Isaiah 13:20.
*More commentary available at chapter level.