²⁰ It will never be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation;^(A)
a nomad will not pitch his tent there,
and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there.
²¹ But desert creatures will lie down there,
and owls will fill the houses.
Ostriches will dwell there,
and wild goats will leap about.^(B)

¹³ Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns;
her fortified cities, with thistles and briers.^(A)
She will become a dwelling for jackals,
an abode^[a] for ostriches.^(B)
14 The desert creatures will meet hyenas,
and one wild goat will call to another.
Indeed, the screech owl will stay there
and will find a resting place for herself.