Isaiah 13:17-22
Isaiah 13:17-22 The Message (MSG)
“And now watch this: Against Babylon, I’m inciting the Medes, A ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes, the kind of brutality that no one can blunt. They massacre the young, wantonly kick and kill even babies. And Babylon, most glorious of all kingdoms, the pride and joy of Chaldeans, Will end up smoking and stinking like Sodom, and, yes, like Gomorrah, when God had finished with them. No one will live there anymore, generation after generation a ghost town. Not even Bedouins will pitch tents there. Shepherds will give it a wide berth. But strange and wild animals will like it just fine, filling the vacant houses with eerie night sounds. Skunks will make it their home, and unspeakable night hags will haunt it. Hyenas will curdle your blood with their laughing, and the howling of coyotes will give you the shivers. “Babylon is doomed. It won’t be long now.”
Isaiah 13:17-22 King James Version (KJV)
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13:17-22 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold. And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children. And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13:17-22 New Century Version (NCV)
“Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon. They do not care about silver or delight in gold. Their soldiers will shoot the young men with arrows; they will show no mercy on children, nor will they feel sorry for little ones. Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms, and the Babylonians are very proud of it. But God will destroy it like Sodom and Gomorrah. No one will ever live there or settle there again. No Arab will put a tent there; no shepherd will bring sheep there. Only desert animals will live there, and their houses will be full of wild dogs. Owls will live there, and wild goats will leap about in the houses. Wolves will howl within the strong walls, and wild dogs will bark in the beautiful buildings. The end of Babylon is near; its time is almost over.”
Isaiah 13:17-22 American Standard Version (ASV)
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13:17-22 New International Version (NIV)
See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children. Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks. But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13:17-22 New King James Version (NKJV)
“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there. But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there. The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.”
Isaiah 13:17-22 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them, Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed]. Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon]; They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb, Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and wild goats will dance there. Hyenas will howl in their castles, And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time has nearly come, And her days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 13:17-22 New Living Translation (NLT)
“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold. The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.” Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep. Desert animals will move into the ruined city, and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Owls will live among the ruins, and wild goats will go there to dance. Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.
Isaiah 13:17-22 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Behold! I am stirring up the Medes against them, who neither value silver nor delight in gold. They will slaughter the young men, and show no pity on infants nor compassion on children.” God will overthrow Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Babylonians, exactly as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Babylon will never rise again, nor will she be inhabited for many generations. Bedouins will not even pitch their tents there, and shepherds will refuse to rest their flocks there. Wild animals will roam there, and their vacant houses will be overrun by eerie creatures — nothing but owls and goat-shaped demons dancing! Hyenas will howl in her houses, and jackals will make their dens in her palaces. Babylon’s time is up, and her days are numbered!
Isaiah 13:17-22 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance. Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.