This verse pictures other wild animals living in the ruins of Babylon. Again we have the problem of knowing which specific animals are in view.

Hyenas will cry in its towers: Hyenas are dog-like animals. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible say “jackals,” which are also dog-like animals (see the discussion on the next line). If hyenas are unknown, translators may say “wild dogs.” They will cry, that is, howl or bark. They will do this in the ruined towers of the city. In ancient cities there were several towers, mostly used for defensive purposes. They were places from which guards could watch for possible enemy invasions, from which visual signals could be sent to other towns, or into which people could gather for safety when the city was attacked. See also the discussion on “tower” at 2.15 even though the Hebrew word for it there is different.

Jackals in the pleasant palaces: This line is parallel to the previous one. There is some confusion about which animal is in mind here. The most common rendering is jackals. The name Jacob and the parallel name Israel refer to the people of Judah here. These names are used often in parallel in this book (see the comments on 9.8).

And will again choose Israel: The verb choose appears most frequently in the book of Deuteronomy to describe God’s action in establishing a special covenant relationship with the people of Israel (see Deut 4.35-40; 7.6-11). “Divine election” is a key concept in Old Testament covenant theology. Here the prophet says that Yahweh will again choose Israel. This could imply that something happened to break the old relationship and so a new one has to be established: Yahweh will once more choose his people. (See a related idea in Jer 31.31, where Yahweh makes a new covenant.)

And will set them in their own land: Yahweh will express his compassion by resettling his people in their land. He will do this because of his promise of land to Abraham (Gen 12.1), a promise that was renewed during the Exodus (Exo 3.7-8; 6.8). The verb set renders a Hebrew root meaning “to give rest,” which is used here in the sense of “to settle peacefully” (compare Deut 3.20; Josh 1.13). Many versions, like Good News Translation, use a verb that carries the sense of “return” to make it clear that their own land is the original land of Israel, the one they lived in before. For this whole clause Contemporary English Version has “He will bring them back to their own land,” and Bible en français courant says “He will resettle his own [people] in their land.”

And aliens will join them and will cleave to the house of Jacob: Aliens refers to foreigners, that is, those who are not Israelites. Foreign people will want to become closely associated with Israel. This theme is hinted at in 2.2-3 and restated in the latter chapters of the book (for example, 56.6-7; 60.3, 14; see also Zech 2.11). At the time of the Exodus there was a “mixed multitude” of non-Israelites who joined the Israelites and became part of the Israelite community (Exo 12.38). This is an example of the way the prophet reuses the Exodus tradition throughout this book. Cleave to means “to join with / to become part of.” Together with the parallel verb join, it indicates that foreigners will go and settle with the Israelites. The phrase the house of Jacob is often used to refer to the nation of Israel; see the comments on 2.5. For the last half of this verse Bible en français courant has “the immigrants will join themselves to them [the Israelites] and will associate themselves with the people of Jacob.”

For the translation of this verse we suggest the following models:

• Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob’s descendants and once again choose the people of Israel. He will settle them in their own land and foreigners will come and want to be part of the family of Jacob.

• Yahweh will turn in mercy toward Jacob, choosing once again the people of Israel. He will give them rest in their own land and other nations will link themselves with them; they will [thus] unite with the descendants of Jacob.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .