I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

ISAIAH 14:23KJV
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Isaiah 14:23 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 14:23 mean?

Isaiah 14:23 describes how God will turn Babylon into a desolate, ruined place, fit only for wild birds and marshes, and will completely sweep it away with destruction. The verse uses vivid language to show that Babylon’s downfall will be total and irreversible, as declared by the LORD of hosts.

In this verse, the prophet Isaiah is speaking God’s message about the future of Babylon, a powerful enemy nation. God promises that Babylon will become so empty and ruined that only creatures like the bittern (a type of wild bird) will live there, and the land will be filled with pools of water. The image of sweeping with a “besom of destruction” (a broom) emphasizes how thoroughly God will remove everything from the city.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 14:23

  • “Bittern” (קָפוֹד, qafod) refers to a solitary, marsh-dwelling bird, highlighting how the city will become a lonely, wild habitat rather than a place for people.
  • “Besom” (מַטְאֲטֵא, mat’ate) means broom, and “destruction” (שָׁמֵד, shamad) means ruin or annihilation; together, they paint a picture of God sweeping away Babylon like someone cleaning out a house, leaving nothing behind.
  • “Possession” (מִרְשָׁה, mirshah) means something that is owned or taken over, stressing that Babylon will no longer belong to people but to wild creatures and wasteland.

Why Isaiah 14:23 matters

  • This verse clears up that Babylon’s destruction is not just partial or temporary; the language shows it will be complete and lasting, with the city never returning to its former glory.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by showing God’s power over even the greatest empires, reminding readers that no nation is beyond His control.
  • The vivid imagery of sweeping and desolation helps readers understand the seriousness of God’s judgment and the certainty of His promises.

Where else these words appear

“possession” Hebrew H4180 · used in 3 verses

  • Job 17:11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
  • Obadiah 1:17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

“bittern” Hebrew H7090 · used in 3 verses

  • Isaiah 34:11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
  • Zephaniah 2:14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

“pools” Hebrew H98 · used in 9 verses

  • Exodus 7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
  • Psalms 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
  • Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

“destruction” Hebrew H8045 · used in 86 verses

  • Genesis 34:30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
  • Deuteronomy 31:3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.
  • Esther 4:8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.