The end of human habitation will allow wild animals and birds to occupy the land of Edom. This imagery is frequently found in poetic material, compare 13.21-22; 14.23; 23.13; 32.14; Psa 63.10; Jer 9.11; 10.22.

In verses 11-15 many animals and birds are named. Translators should consult ACGS for further information. What is important from the context is that these creatures are all associated with ruins and are among the unclean ones referred to in Lev 11.13-19. Translators should try to find equivalents. If an exact vocabulary is not available, they can use general terms such as “bird of prey” for hawk, “night bird” for owl, “fox” for “jackal,” “wild dog” for “hyena,” and so on. They should avoid using names of animals or birds that are typical for their own culture and that are not found in the Bible.

But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it: Scavenger birds that are usually found only in uninhabited places will take over the land of Edom. The Hebrew word rendered hawk can refer to one of the varieties of owl (Revised English Bible “Horned owl”; New International Version and New American Bible “desert owl”). Hope recommends “jackdaw” (also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which is a bird not known to many. It is a black bird in the same family as ravens and crows, but is smaller. New Jerusalem Bible has “pelican,” but this is unlikely. Porcupine translates a Hebrew word that has also been rendered “bustard” (Revised English Bible), “screech owl” (New International Version), “hoot owl” (New American Bible), “raven,” and “hedgehog” (New Jerusalem Bible). It is most likely a type of owl here, not an animal, since it occurs in a list of birds. A raven is a large black bird with a strong beak and fairly short legs.

He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plummet of chaos over its nobles: These two parallel lines describe further Yahweh’s treatment of Edom. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible make it explicit that the pronoun He refers to “The LORD” (similarly New International Version with “God”). Stretching a line and a plummet are activities of a builder for measuring and making sure walls are straight. For line and plummet, see the comments on 28.17, even though the Hebrew word for plummet is different there. Here it is literally “stones,” referring to a weight on a string, that is, a plumb line. In 28.17 these construction tools are used figuratively to describe acts of judgment, but here they are used to describe destruction. The line or “measuring line” (New International Version, Revised English Bible) is often stretched along a wall to ensure that it is horizontally straight, while a plummet or “plumb line” (New International Version) is suspended next to a wall to ensure it is vertically straight. Both the horizontal and the vertical dimensions are included to represent the whole land.

The Hebrew words for confusion (tohu) and chaos (bohu) also occur in Gen 1.2, where they are rendered “without form” and “void” respectively. It would be helpful to mention this link to Genesis in a footnote. However, Good News Translation makes it explicit in the text by saying “The LORD will make it a barren waste again, as it was before the creation,” but such a rendering goes beyond the limits of translation. Translators may need to modify the figurative language of these two lines to communicate the real meaning, as is done in the examples below. The line of confusion means a return to anarchy or chaos, while the plummet of chaos refers to a return to emptiness or desolation. We may say “Yahweh will reduce it to chaos and emptiness.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch keeps some of the figurative language with “The LORD measures the land with the measuring line and defines its borders, so that it always remains wild and uninhabitable” (similarly Bible en français courant).

Over its nobles renders the first Hebrew word of the next verse, and adds the preposition over. Few versions follow this arrangement. See the discussion on the next verse.

For the translation of this verse we offer the following examples:

• The jackdaw and the owl will possess it,
the wood owl and the raven will live in it.
Yahweh will reduce it to chaos,
and return it to emptiness.

• The jackdaw and the owl will take possession of it,
the tawny owl and the raven will live there.
Yahweh will measure it out for confusion [to be there],
and test it for desolation [to be there].

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 .