⁶ I am like an owl in the desert,
    like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.

¹⁴ The proud city will become a pasture for flocks and herds,
    and all sorts of wild animals will settle there.
The desert owl and screech owl will roost on its ruined columns,
    their calls echoing through the gaping windows.
Rubble will block all the doorways,
    and the cedar paneling will be exposed to the weather.

“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
    She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul^[a] spirit,
    a hideout for every foul vulture
    and every foul and dreadful animal.^[b]

¹⁴ Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane,
    and then I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help.
    I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”

¹¹ It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl,
    the great owl and the raven.^[a]
For God will measure that land carefully;
    he will measure it for chaos and destruction.
¹² It will be called the Land of Nothing,
    and all its nobles will soon be gone.^[b]
13 Thorns will overrun its palaces;
    nettles and thistles will grow in its forts.
The ruins will become a haunt for jackals
    and a home for owls.
¹⁴ Desert animals will mingle there with hyenas,
    their howls filling the night.
Wild goats will bleat at one another among the ruins,
    and night creatures^[c] will come there to rest.
¹⁵ There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs.
    She will hatch her young and cover them with her wings.
And the buzzards will come,
    each one with its mate.

²⁹ Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals
    and a companion to owls.
³⁰ My skin has turned dark,
    and my bones burn with fever.

⁸ Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
    I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.