Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 9:11

"And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant." — Jeremiah 9:11 (ASV)

A den of dragons. —A better translation, used here and in Jeremiah 10:22 and Isaiah 13:22, is jackals. The underlying word literally means a howler.

The English version follows the Septuagint and Vulgate. However, even if “dragons” is understood in its non-mythical sense as referring to some species of serpent, there is nothing in the original Hebrew word to suggest this meaning.

The mistake has likely arisen from this word's similarity to other words that are translated as “serpent” in Exodus 7:9-10 and Exodus 7:12; as “whale” in Genesis 1:21 and Job 7:12; and as “dragons” in Psalms 74:13 and Psalms 91:13.