devastation
she.ma.mah denotes devastated land, cities, or places left ruined, desolate, or without inhabitants.
The noun most often marks a condition of land, cities, mountains, or settlements made ruined and uninhabited through destructive judgment or invasion. It can also describe devastation as an overwhelming outcome or as a condition applied to objects and persons in a clause.
Senses in use
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Ruined land and places left uninhabited · dominant
The singular noun regularly describes land or cities made desolate: in Ezekiel 33:28 the APB renders a land made “a desolation and a waste,” with no one passing through the mountains; in Jeremiah 34:22 it renders Judah’s cities as “a desolation without inhabitant.” Joshua 8:28 likewise places it after Ai is burned and made a permanent heap.
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Devastation assigned or experienced as a judgment · occasional
In Ezekiel 15:8 the term occurs in the declaration that the land is given over because of unfaithfulness, while Ezekiel 35:15 applies it to Mount Seir and Edom after their rejoicing over Israel’s desolation. In Ezekiel 23:33 the APB renders the clause with “the cup of horror and devastation,” presenting the condition as part of what is filled or endured.
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Desolations in plural construct expressions · rare
The plural construct forms occur in descriptions of continuing devastated places: in Ezekiel 35:9 the APB renders cities that will not be inhabited or restored as “perpetual desolations,” and in Jeremiah 25:12 it renders the land of Chaldea as “everlasting desolations.” Daniel 9:18 has an active participle form in construct, where the APB asks God to see desolations and the city called by his name.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB variously uses “desolation,” “devastation,” “waste,” “wasteland,” and “desolate.” These are whole-verse presentations rather than fixed word-by-word renderings.