There shall the owl nest and lay and hatch and gather her young in her shadow: Some scholars believe the Hebrew word for owl refers to the “arrow-snake” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). New Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant simply have “snake.” A type of snake seems unlikely here since snakes do not incubate their eggs. Others think it refers to a kind of bird. Revised English Bible has “sand-partridge,” and New American Bible says “hoot owl.” According to Hope, it is most likely some type of owl in the context of another bird of prey in the last two lines. Four verbs are used to describe the activity of the owl. It will nest, lay, hatch, and gather her young. Nest means to build or make a nest; lay means to lay eggs; hatch means to cause the young to come from the eggs by incubating them; and gather her young means to gather her young chicks around her. In her shadow implies protection. It may be rendered “under its wings” (similarly Revised English Bible).

Yea, there shall the kites be gathered, each one with her mate: For yea see the comments on the previous verse. The Hebrew word for kites refers to some type of bird of prey, but again precise identification is not possible. Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch have “vultures” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “buzzards”), while New International Version says “falcons.” Hope believes it refers to various types of kite. He recommends saying “kites” or “hawks.” The form of the Hebrew verb rendered be gathered probably has a reflexive meaning here, so it is better rendered “gather [themselves] together” or simply “gather.” Each one with her mate is literally “a woman her companion,” an expression that also occurs in the next verse. Several translations do not speak of a mate, but simply of “gathering together”; for example, for these two lines Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “Also the vultures come and gather in groups” (similarly Bible en français courant), while New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “There too the buzzards shall gather With one another.” Good News Translation is similar with “Vultures will gather there, one after another.”

Consider the following translation examples for this verse:

• The owl will build her nest there, lay her eggs,
hatch them, and watch over her little ones, protecting them;
also kites will gather there, each with its mate.

• Owls will nest there, lay and hatch their eggs,
and watch over their young to protect them;
vultures too will gather there, each with her mate [or, together as a group].

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 .