¹⁹ Babylon,^(A) the jewel of kingdoms,^(B)
    the pride and glory^(C) of the Babylonians,^[a]
will be overthrown^(D) by God
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.^(E)
20 She will never be inhabited^(F)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads^(G) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
²¹ But desert creatures^(H) will lie there,
    jackals^(I) will fill her houses;
there the owls^(J) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats^(K) will leap about.
²² Hyenas^(L) will inhabit her strongholds,^(M)
    jackals^(N) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,^(O)
    and her days will not be prolonged.^(P)

¹³ Thorns^(A) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(B)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(C)
    a home for owls.^(D)
14 Desert creatures^(E) will meet with hyenas,^(F)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures^(G) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
¹⁵ The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;^(H)
there also the falcons^(I) will gather,
    each with its mate.

³⁷ Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt^(A) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,^(B)
    a place where no one lives.^(C)

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’^[a](A)
    She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,^(B)
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.^(C)