The earth was without form and empty. Darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

He found his people in a desert land, in a barren place where animals howl. He guarded them, took care of them, and protected them because they were the precious apple (pupil) of his eye.

In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah, Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi; six cities with their villages.

Caravans turn aside from their routes. They go into the wasteland and perish.

Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their toil. They search in the wasteland food for their young.

Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night.

Yet they still continued to sin against him. They rebelled against the Most High in the desert.

I resemble a pelican of the wilderness. I have become like an owl of the waste places.

Let the desert and its towns praise God. Let the people of Kedar praise him! Let those who live in the city of Sela shout for joy from the tops of the mountains!

They were not thirsty when he led them through the deserts. He made water flow from a rock for them. He split a rock, and water gushed out.

You are like a wild donkey accustomed to the desert. You sniff at the wind while in heat. All who seek you will not get tired. They will find you during your monthly period.

Even the jackals of the wasteland have full breasts and give milk to their young ones. The daughter of my people has become cruel like the ostriches in the wasteland.

And yet I hated Esau and his descendants. I devastated Esau's hill country and abandoned his inheritance to the desert jackals.