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. I will also make it a possession for the bittern (Hebrew, qipod (H7090)) - rather, the hedgehog (Septuagint Vulgate, Chaldaic, Arabic, and Gesenius). But the context favours an aquatic bird, solitary, and loving marshes rather than a quadruped. The Arabic has Al-houbara, a bird the size of a capon. The bittern answers to the conditions. Its scientific name is Butaurus or Ardea stellaris. It strikes its beak in the mud or sand, and makes a shrill noise. The context in Isaiah 34:11 refers to birds that frequent solitary places: so also Zephaniah 2:14. Strabo (16: 1) states that enormous hedgehogs were found in the islands of the Euphrates.
And pools - owing to Cyrus turning the waters of the Euphrates over the country.
I will sweep it with the besom - sweep-net (Maurer). (1 Kings 14:10; 2 Kings 21:13.)