17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes,

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.

18 Their bows will strike down the young men;

they will have no mercy on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.

19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,

the pride and glory of the Babylonians,

will be overthrown by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 She will never be inhabited

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomads will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

21 But desert creatures will lie there,

jackals will fill her houses;

there the owls will dwell,

and there the wild goats will leap about.

22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,

jackals her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,

and her days will not be prolonged.

17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,

who have no regard for silver

and do not delight in gold.

18 Their bows will slaughter the young men;

they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;

their eyes will not pity children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.

20 It will never be inhabited

or lived in for all generations;

no Arab will pitch his tent there;

no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

21 But wild animals will lie down there,

and their houses will be full of howling creatures;

there ostriches will dwell,

and there wild goats will dance.

22 Hyenas will cry in its towers,

and jackals in the pleasant palaces;

its time is close at hand

and its days will not be prolonged.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,

Which shall not regard silver;

And as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces;

And they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb;

Their eye shall not spare children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

The beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,

Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 It shall never be inhabited,

Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:

Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there;

Neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;

And their houses shall be full of doleful creatures;

And owls shall dwell there,

And satyrs shall dance there.

22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses,

And dragons in their pleasant palaces:

And her time is near to come,

And her days shall not be prolonged.

17 “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon.

They cannot be tempted by silver

or bribed with gold.

18 The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows.

They will have no mercy on helpless babies

and will show no compassion for children.”

19 Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms,

the flower of Chaldean pride,

will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God destroyed them.

20 Babylon will never be inhabited again.

It will remain empty for generation after generation.

Nomads will refuse to camp there,

and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.

21 Desert animals will move into the ruined city,

and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures.

Owls will live among the ruins,

and wild goats will go there to dance.

22 Hyenas will howl in its fortresses,

and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces.

Babylon’s days are numbered;

its time of destruction will soon arrive.

17 “Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon.

They do not care about silver

or delight in gold.

18 Their soldiers will shoot the young men with arrows;

they will show no mercy on children,

nor will they feel sorry for little ones.

19 Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms,

and the Babylonians are very proud of it.

But God will destroy it

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 No one will ever live there

or settle there again.

No Arab will put a tent there;

no shepherd will bring sheep there.

21 Only desert animals will live there,

and their houses will be full of wild dogs.

Owls will live there,

and wild goats will leap about in the houses.

22 Wolves will howl within the strong walls,

and wild dogs will bark in the beautiful buildings.

The end of Babylon is near;

its time is almost over.”

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 18 And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. 22 And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who do not regard silver, and as for gold, they have no delight in it. 18 And their bows shall dash the young men to pieces, and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb: their eye shall not spare children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in, even to generation and generation; nor shall Arabian pitch tent there, nor shepherds make fold there. 21 But beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of owls; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. 22 And jackals shall cry to one another in their palaces, and wild dogs in the pleasant castles. And her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

17 I’m going to stir up the Medes against them. 

They don’t care for silver and aren’t happy with gold. 

18 But their bows will smash the youth. 

They’ll have no compassion for babies, 

nor will they look with pity on children. 

19 Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, 

the proud beauty of the Chaldeans, 

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. 

20 It will never be inhabited again, 

and no one will live in it for generations. 

Arabs won’t pitch their tents there. 

Shepherds won’t let their flocks rest there. 

21 Desert animals will lie down there. 

Their homes will be full of owls. 

Ostriches will live there, 

and wild goats will skip about. 

22 Hyenas will howl in Babylon’s strongholds, 

and jackals will howl in its luxurious palaces. 

Its time has almost come. 

Its days will not be extended. 

17 Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them,

who cannot be bought off with silver

and who have no desire for gold.

18 Their bows will cut young men to pieces.

They will have no compassion on little ones;

they will not look with pity on children.

19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,

the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.

20 It will never be inhabited

or lived in from generation to generation;

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.

22 Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,

and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.

Babylon’s time is almost up;

her days are almost over.

17 See, I am stirring up the Medes against them,

who have no regard for silver

and do not delight in gold.

18 Their bows will slaughter the young men;

they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;

their eyes will not pity children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.

20 It will never be inhabited

or lived in for all generations;

Arabs will not pitch their tents there,

shepherds will not make their flocks lie down there.

21 But wild animals will lie down there,

and its houses will be full of howling creatures;

there ostriches will live,

and there goat-demons will dance.

22 Hyenas will cry in its towers,

and jackals in the pleasant palaces;

its time is close at hand,

and its days will not be prolonged.

17 Look! I am stirring the Medes up against them,

who do not value silver

and do not delight in gold.

18 And their bows will shatter young men.

And they will not show mercy on the fruit of the womb;

their eyes will not look compassionately on children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 It will not be inhabited forever,

and it will not be dwelled in forever;

and no Arab will pitch a tent there,

and shepherds will not allow their flocks to lie down there.

21 But wild animals will lie down there,

and their houses will be full of howling creatures,

and the daughters of ostriches will live there,

and goats will dance there.

22 And hyenas will answer in its palaces,

and jackals in the pleasure palaces;

and its time is coming soon,

and its days will not be prolonged.

17 The Lord will stir up the Medes to attack the Babylonians.

They aren’t interested in getting silver.

They don’t delight in gold.

18 Instead, they will use their bows and arrows

to strike the young men down.

They won’t even show any mercy to babies.

They won’t take pity on children.

19 The city of Babylon is the jewel of kingdoms.

It is the glory and pride of the Babylonians.

But God will destroy it

just as he did Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 No one will ever live in Babylon again.

No one will live there for all time to come.

Arabs will never set up their tents there.

Shepherds will never rest their flocks there.

21 But desert creatures will lie down there.

Wild dogs will fill its houses.

Owls will live there.

Wild goats will jump around in it.

22 Hyenas will cry out in its forts.

Wild dogs will bark in its beautiful palaces.

The time for Babylon to be punished is near.

Its days are numbered.

17 Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them,

Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

18 And their bows will mow down the young men,

They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,

Nor will their eye pity children.

19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride,

Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;

Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,

Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.

21 But desert creatures will lie down there,

And their houses will be full of owls;

Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.

22 Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers

And jackals in their luxurious palaces.

Her fateful time also will soon come

And her days will not be prolonged.