Isaiah 34:14 describes the future emptiness of Edom, a land God has judged, now filled with wild desert creatures that roam and rest where people once lived. The verse is a prophetic picture of abandoned ruins, not a promise of comfort for ordinary readers. It comes from the prophet Isaiah, speaking to the nations and especially to Edom, the neighboring kingdom south of Judah.
The wild animals of the desert will meet with the wolves, and the wild goat will cry to his fellow. Yes, the night creature shall settle there, and shall find herself a place of rest.
Isaiah 34:14 (WEB)
What Isaiah 34:14 Means
The verse begins with “the wild animals of the desert” and “the wolves” meeting together. In a settled land, wolves and desert animals would be pushed out by farmers and herders. Here the picture is of a place where human life has ended, so the wild world moves back in and mixes freely. The image is one of reversal: what was once a home becomes a wilderness.
The second half speaks of “the wild goat” calling to its fellow and “the night creature” settling down to rest. These are small details of animal life, but they carry weight. A creature finding “a place of rest” in a former city means that the ordinary rhythms of safety and dwelling have gone. The verse does not tell us why these animals rest there. It simply shows the land quiet, empty, and given over to creatures.
What the verse does not promise is anything about the reader’s own life. It is a judgment-oracle about a particular nation. It is not a teaching that God will always leave us alone, and it is not a statement about peace in ordinary experience. Read by itself it can sound bleak, and that bleakness is part of its purpose: it shows the seriousness of God’s judgment against a people who had opposed his people.
The Context of Isaiah 34:14
Isaiah 34 is part of a longer section of the book of Isaiah, often called the “little apocalypse,” where the prophet announces God’s judgment on all nations and then focuses on Edom. Isaiah himself lived in Jerusalem in the eighth century B.C., and the book traditionally bears his name, though many scholars think later writers added to it. The original hearers were Judeans who had long lived near Edom and had often seen it as a rival.
The verses just before this one describe thorns and nettles growing in the palaces and fortresses, and jackals and ostriches taking over the courts. The verses that follow, in verses 15 to 17, describe birds of prey gathering with their mates and the land being measured out and possessed forever by these creatures. Seen this way, verse 14 is the middle of a sustained picture of emptied human power. It shows the creatures moving into the space that people once filled, which is the heart of the judgment.
Key Phrases in Isaiah 34:14
Isaiah 65:21
They will build houses, and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
(WEB)
This verse describes a future in which people build houses and plant vineyards and enjoy the fruit of their work. It stands in deliberate contrast to the emptied land of Isaiah 34:14, showing that God’s judgment is never the last word over the places he loves.
Jeremiah 50:39
Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves will dwell there. The ostriches will dwell therein; and it will be inhabited no more forever; neither will it be lived in from generation to generation.
(WEB)
This verse echoes the picture of desert creatures settling in a ruined city, this time Babylon. Reading it alongside Isaiah 34:14 shows that the prophets used this same image to describe the fate of proud nations that stood against God’s people.
A Short Prayer From Isaiah 34:14
Lord, when I look at the emptiness in this verse, I see how serious your judgment is and how real the loss of a home can be. Help me take your justice seriously and not treat it lightly. When I feel that everything I have built is gone, remind me that you see the ruins and you are still God over them. Keep my heart from bitterness toward those who have wronged me, and teach me to trust you with what I cannot repair. Amen.
