Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 34:14

"And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest." — Isaiah 34:14 (ASV)

The wild beasts of the desert - The original here contains a paronomasia, which cannot be conveyed in a translation. The word translated ‘wild beasts of the desert’ (ציים tsı̂yı̂ym), is translated by the Septuagint as δαιμόνια daimonia—‘demons.’ For the meaning of the word, see the note on Isaiah 13:21.

The wild beasts of the island - The margin reads, ‘Ijim.’ The Hebrew is איּים 'ı̂yym (see the note on Isaiah 13:22). This term probably denotes the jackal. Gesenius supposes it is so called from its howl, or nocturnal cry—from an Arabic word meaning to howl.

And the satyr - (See the note on Isaiah 13:21).

Shall cry to his fellow - This is a most striking description of the desolation, when all that will be heard among the ruins is the doleful cry of wild beasts.

The screech-owl - The margin reads, ‘Night-monster.’ The word לילית lı̂ylı̂yt (from ליל layil—night) properly refers to a night-specter—a creature of Jewish superstition.

The rabbis describe it as an elegantly dressed female who lay in wait for children at night, either to carry them off or to murder them.

The Greeks had a similar idea about the female ἔμπουτα empouta. This idea corresponds to the Roman fables about the Lamiae and Striges, and to the Arabic notions of Ghouls, whom they described as female monsters that dwell in deserts and tear men to pieces (see Gesenius, Commentary in loc.; and Bochart, Hieroz. ii. 831).

The marginal note in our version expresses the correct idea. All this describes utter and perpetual desolation—a land that would be full of old ruins and inhabited by the animals that usually make such ruins their abode.