Translations
KJVPrimary
King James VersionI am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
F.O.G.Secondary
The F.O.GI resemble the pelican of the wilderness; I have become like the owl of the ruins.
F.O.G.M.
F.O.G MessageI am like a desert pelican, like a screech owl haunting the ruins.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleI am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
Footnotes
Both qaʾat (large water bird, possibly pelican or desert owl — identification uncertain) and kôs (a small owl, possibly little owl or screech owl) are creatures associated with desolation and abandonment in the Hebrew scriptures (cf. Isa. 34:11; Zeph. 2:14). They are Levitically unclean, solitary, and at home only in waste places — the precise antithesis of communal flourishing. The psalmist does not merely feel lonely; he has become a creature of desolation. F.O.G. retains distinct names for both birds; F.O.G.M. uses 'desert pelican' and 'screech owl' to give the English reader more vivid, concrete imagery.
