Isaiah 34:13

And thorns shall come up in her palaces - ועלו בארמנותיה vealu bearmenotheyha; so read all the ancient versions.

A court for owls - יענה yaanah, the ostrich, from ענה anah, to cry, because of the noise it makes. "They roar, "says Dr. Shaw, "sometimes like a lion - sometimes like a bull. I have often heard them groan as if in the utmost distress."

And thorns ... - (see the note at Isaiah 5:6)

It shall be an habitation of dragons - On the meaning of the word 'dragons,' see the note at Isaiah 13:22.

Court for owls - A place of resort, a residence of owls. The word rendered 'court' (חציר châtsı̂yr) means a dwelling-place, a habitation, as well as an enclosure or court. The margin is, 'Daughters of the owl,' or 'ostriches' (see the note at Isaiah 13:21). 'I would,' says Stephens, when standing amidst the ruins of Petra, the capital of Idumea (see the note at Isaiah 16:1), and with this passage of Isaiah in his eye, 'I would that the sceptic could stand as I did, among the ruins of this city among the rocks, and there open the sacred book, and read the words of the inspired penman, written when this desolate place was one of the greatest cities in the world. I see the scoff arrested, his cheek pale, his lip quivering, and his heart quaking with fear, as the ancient city cries out to him in a voice loud and powerful as one risen from the dead; though be would not believe Moses and the prophets, he believes the hand-writing of God himself, in the desolation and eternal ruin around him.' (Incidents of Travel in Egypt, etc., vol. ii. p. 76.)