²¹ But desert creatures will lie down there,
and owls will fill the houses.
Ostriches will dwell there,
and wild goats will leap about.^(A)
22 Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,
and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time is almost up;
her days are almost over.

¹⁴ Herds will lie down in the middle of it,
every kind of wild animal.^[a]
Both eagle owls^[b] and herons^[c]
will roost in the capitals of its pillars.
Their calls will sound^[d] from the window,
but devastation^[e] will be on the threshold,
for he will expose the cedar work.^[f]