¹⁷ Behold, ^(A)I am stirring up the Medes against them,
    who have no regard for silver
    and do not delight in gold.
^18 (B)Their bows will slaughter^[a] the young men;
    they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
    their eyes will not pity children.
¹⁹ And Babylon, ^(C)the glory of kingdoms,
    the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be ^(D)like Sodom and Gomorrah
    when God overthrew them.
^20 (E)It will never be inhabited
    or lived in for all generations;
no ^(F)Arab will pitch his tent there;
    no ^(G)shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
²¹ But ^(H)wild animals will lie down there,
    and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ^(I)ostriches^[b] will dwell,
    and there wild goats will dance.
²² Hyenas^[c] will cry in its towers,
    and ^(J)jackals in ^(K)the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
    and its days will not be prolonged.