Isaiah 13:19-21
Amplified Bible
19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the [a]Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
20
Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will the shepherds let their sheep 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 [b]wild goats will dance there.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:19 The Chaldeans dominated and ruled Babylonia from 625 b.c., until their empire fell in 539 b.c., but they were known as early as 1000 b.c. as an aggressive, tribal people in the southern region of Babylonia. They were highly skilled in both the science of astronomy and the pseudo-science of astrology. They kept meticulous records of celestial motion and correctly calculated the length of a year to within just a few minutes. Babylon, their capital city, was the center of trade and learning in the western part of Asia. The classical literature of the Chaldeans was written in cuneiform, but the common language, both written and spoken in Babylon, was Akkadian that was increasingly influenced by Aramaic.
- Isaiah 13:21 Another possibility is goat demons.
Isaiah 13:19-21
New International Version
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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
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