“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads^(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.^(B)

¹⁴ He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace^(A)
    with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
    panels it with cedar^(B)
    and decorates it in red.^(C)

¹¹ The desert owl^[a](A) and screech owl^[b] will possess it;
    the great owl^[c] and the raven^(B) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom^(C)
    the measuring line of chaos^(D)
    and the plumb line^(E) of desolation.
¹² Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes^(F) will vanish^(G) away.
¹³ Thorns^(H) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(I)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(J)
    a home for owls.^(K)
14 Desert creatures^(L) will meet with hyenas,^(M)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures^(N) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
¹⁵ The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;^(O)
there also the falcons^(P) will gather,
    each with its mate.

None of these will be missing,^(R)
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth^(S) that has given the order,^(T)
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
¹⁷ He allots their portions;^(U)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.^(V)

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.
²² Hyenas^(L) will inhabit her strongholds,^(M)
    jackals^(N) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,^(O)
    and her days will not be prolonged.^(P)

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’^[a](A)
    She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,^(B)
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.^(C)

²³ “I will turn her into a place for owls^(A)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,^(B)”
    declares the Lord Almighty.^(C)