Zephaniah 2:14

"And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations; both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar work."

This verse is a further delineation of the desolation of Assyria. Space is taken up in a number of commentaries regarding whether or not "pelican" and "porcupine" are properly rendered, some suggesting other creatures than these given in our version. Uncertainties in the text and the very antiquity of the passage have contributed to the perplexity; but such problems are of very little significance. The point is that wild creatures (of what name, exactly, is immaterial) will take over the once proud city. As Nahum put it, "There shall be no healing of thy bruise." Nor did any healing of it ever come.