21 Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
22 קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird ( “hoot owl”; “screech owl”; “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. “small animals”; “porcupine”; , “hedgehog”).
23 Heb “will possess it” (so ).
24 The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vé’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
25 Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
27 The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
28 Heb “will be nothing”; , , “will all be gone.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Night and day it shall not be quenched;

its smoke shall go up forever.

From generation to generation it shall lie waste;

none shall pass through it forever and ever.

But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,

the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.

He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,

and the plumb line of emptiness.

Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,

and all its princes shall be nothing.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

It will not be quenched night or day;

its smoke will rise forever.

From generation to generation it will lie desolate;

no one will ever pass through it again.

The desert owl and screech owl will possess it;

the great owl and the raven will nest there.

God will stretch out over Edom

the measuring line of chaos

and the plumb line of desolation.

Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,

all her princes will vanish away.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

It will never go out—day or night.

Its smoke will go up forever.

It will be desolate, from generation to generation;

no one will pass through it forever and ever.

Eagle owls and herons will possess it,

and long-eared owls and ravens will dwell there.

The Lord will stretch out a measuring line

and a plumb line over her

for her destruction and chaos.

No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,

and all her princes will come to nothing.

NLTNew Living Translation

This judgment on Edom will never end;

the smoke of its burning will rise forever.

The land will lie deserted from generation to generation.

No one will live there anymore.

It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl,

the great owl and the raven.

For God will measure that land carefully;

he will measure it for chaos and destruction.

It will be called the Land of Nothing,

and all its nobles will soon be gone.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Night and day it shall not be quenched;

its smoke shall go up forever.

From generation to generation it shall be in ruins;

forever and ever there will be no one who passes through her.

But the large bird and the hedgehog shall take possession of it,

and the owl and the raven shall live in it.

And he shall stretch the measuring line of confusion out over it,

and the plumb line of emptiness.

Its nobles—but no kingdom is there—shall call,

and all its princes shall be nothing.

KJV 1900King James Version

It shall not be quenched night nor day;

The smoke thereof shall go up for ever:

From generation to generation it shall lie waste;

None shall pass through it for ever and ever.

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.

They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there,

And all her princes shall be nothing.

Public Domain