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)

¹⁰ It will not be quenched^(A) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.^(B)
From generation to generation^(C) it will lie desolate;^(D)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
¹¹ The desert owl^[a](E) and screech owl^[b] will possess it;
    the great owl^[c] and the raven^(F) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom^(G)
    the measuring line of chaos^(H)
    and the plumb line^(I) of desolation.
¹² Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes^(J) will vanish^(K) away.
¹³ Thorns^(L) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(M)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(N)
    a home for owls.^(O)
14 Desert creatures^(P) will meet with hyenas,^(Q)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures^(R) 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;^(S)
there also the falcons^(T) will gather,
    each with its mate.

²⁹ The land trembles^(A) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes^(B) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste^(C) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.^(D)

³⁷ Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt^(A) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,^(B)
    a place where no one lives.^(C)
38 Her people all roar like young lions,^(D)
    they growl like lion cubs.
³⁹ But while they are aroused,
    I will set out a feast for them
    and make them drunk,^(E)
so that they shout with laughter—
    then sleep forever^(F) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.^(G)
40 “I will bring them down
    like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and goats.^(H)

⁴¹ “How Sheshak^[a](I) will be captured,^(J)
    the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate^(K) Babylon will be
    among the nations!
⁴² The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves^(L) will cover her.
⁴³ Her towns will be desolate,
    a dry and desert^(M) land,
a land where no one lives,
    through which no one travels.^(N)