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)
22 Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,
and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time is almost up;
her days are almost over.

⁹ Look, riders come—
horsemen in pairs.”
And he answered, saying,
“Babylon has fallen,^(A) has fallen.
All the images of her gods
have been shattered on the ground.”^(B)