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And thorns shall come up in her palaces - בארמנותיה ועלו 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.)

Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his Spirit will perform. And let us observe how the evidences of the truth continually increase, as one prophecy after another is fulfilled, until these awful scenes bring in more happy days. As Israel was a figure of the Christian church, so the Edomites, their bitter enemies, represent the enemies of the kingdom of Christ. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins for a time, but the enemies of the church shall be desolate for ever.