Isaiah 13:21-22

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ¹  houses will be full of hyenas. ² 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ³ 

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ⁴ 

Her time is almost up, ⁵ 

her days will not be prolonged. ⁶ 

Isaiah 34:11-15

34:11 Owls and wild animals ⁷  will live there, ⁸ 

all kinds of wild birds ⁹  will settle in it.

The Lord ¹⁰  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ¹¹  of destruction. ¹² 

34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom

and all her officials will disappear. ¹³ 

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ¹⁴  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ¹⁵ 

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ¹⁶ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ¹⁷ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ¹⁸  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ¹⁹ 

34:15 Owls ²⁰  will make nests and lay eggs ²¹  there;

they will hatch them and protect them. ²² 

Yes, hawks ²³  will gather there,

each with its mate.

Jeremiah 50:39-40

50:39 Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there.

Ostriches ²⁴  will dwell in it too. ²⁵ 

But no people will ever live there again.

No one will dwell there for all time to come. ²⁶ 

50:40 I will destroy Babylonia just like I did

Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns.

No one will live there. ²⁷ 

No human being will settle in it,”

says the Lord. ²⁸ 

Jeremiah 51:42-43

51:42 The sea has swept over Babylon.

She has been covered by a multitude ²⁹  of its waves. ³⁰ 

51:43 The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins.

She has become a dry and barren desert.

No one lives in those towns any more.

No one even passes through them. ³¹ 

Zephaniah 2:14

2:14 Flocks and herds ³²  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ³³ 

Owls ³⁴  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ³⁵ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ³⁶ 

even the cedar work ³⁷  will be exposed to the elements. ³⁸ 

Revelation 14:8

14:8 A ³⁹  second ⁴⁰  angel ⁴¹  followed the first, ⁴²  declaring: ⁴³  “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! ⁴⁴  She made all the nations ⁴⁵  drink of the wine of her immoral passion.” ⁴⁶ 

Revelation 18:2

18:2 He ⁴⁷  shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!

She ⁴⁸  has become a lair for demons,

a haunt ⁴⁹  for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ⁵⁰ 

Revelation 18:21-23

18:21 Then ⁵¹  one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,

“With this kind of sudden violent force ⁵² 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ⁵³ 

and it will never be found again!

18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,

flute players, and trumpeters

will never be heard in you ⁵⁴  again.

No ⁵⁵  craftsman ⁵⁶  who practices any trade

will ever be found in you again;

the noise of a mill ⁵⁷  will never be heard in you again.

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ⁵⁸  were deceived by your magic spells! ⁵⁹ 

[13:21]  ¹ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ² tn The precise referent of this word in uncertain. See HALOT 29 s.v. *אֹחַ. Various English versions translate as “owls” (e.g., NAB, NASB), “wild dogs” (NCV); “jackals” (NIV); “howling creatures” (NRSV, NLT).

[13:21]  ³ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[13:22]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).

[13:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ⁶ sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[34:11]  ⁷ tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).

[34:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.

[34:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ¹² sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[34:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”

[34:13]  ¹³ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)

[34:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ¹⁸ tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”

[34:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”

[34:15]  ¹⁹ tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.

[34:15]  ²⁰ tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.

[34:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”

[34:15]  ²² tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.

[50:39]  ²² tn The identification of this bird has been called into question by G. R. Driver, “Birds in the Old Testament,” PEQ 87 (1955): 137-38. He refers to this bird as an owl. That identification, however, is not reflected in any of the lexicons including the most recent, which still gives “ostrich” (HALOT 402 s.v. יַעֲנָה) as does W. S. McCullough, “Ostrich,” IDB 3:611. REB, NIV, NCV, and God’s Word all identify this bird as “owl/desert owl.”

[50:39]  ²³ tn Heb “Therefore desert creatures will live with jackals and ostriches will live in it.”

[50:39]  ²⁴ tn Heb “It will never again be inhabited nor dwelt in unto generation and generation.” For the meaning of this last phrase compare the usage in Ps 100:5 and Isaiah 13:20. Since the first half of the verse has spoken of animals living there, it is necessary to add “people” and turn the passive verbs into active ones.

[50:40]  ²⁵ tn Heb “‘Like [when] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns,’ oracle of the Lord, ‘no man will live there.’” The Lord is speaking so the first person has been substituted for “God.” The sentence has again been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.

[50:40]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:42]  ²⁸ tn For the meaning “multitude” here rather than “tumult” see BDB 242 s.v. הָמוֹן 3.c, where reference is made that this refers to a great throng of people under the figure of an overwhelming mass of waves. The word is used of a multitude of soldiers, or a vast army in 1 Sam 14:16; 1 Kgs 20:13, 18 (cf. BDB 242 s.v. הָמוֹן 3.a for further references).

[51:42]  ²⁹ tn Heb “The sea has risen up over Babylon. She has been covered by the multitude of its waves.”

[51:43]  ³¹ tn Heb “Its towns have become a desolation, [it has become] a dry land and a desert, a land which no man passes through them [referring to “her towns”] and no son of man [= human being] passes through them.” Here the present translation has followed the suggestion of BHS and a number of the modern commentaries in deleting the second occurrence of the word “land,” in which case the words that follow are not a relative clause but independent statements. A number of modern English versions appear to ignore the third feminine plural suffixes which refer back to the cities and refer the statements that follow to the land.

[2:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How גוֹי (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be a corruption of another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193.

[2:14]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads here גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term קָאַת refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term קִפֹּד may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings.

[2:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “a sound will sing in the window.” If some type of owl is in view, “hoot” is a more appropriate translation (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[2:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word חֹרֶב (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to עֹרֵב (’orev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vulgate; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window – a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104).

[2:14]  ³⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”

[14:8]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:8]  ³⁸ tc There are several different variants comprising a textual problem involving “second” (δεύτερος, deuteros). First, several mss (A 1 2329 Ï^K) read “another, a second angel” (ἄλλος δεύτερος ἄγγελος, allo" deutero" angelo"). Second, other mss (Ì⁴⁷ א* 1006 1841 1854 pc) read just “another, a second” (ἄλλος δεύτερος). Third, the reading “another angel” (ἄλλος ἄγγελος) is supported by a few Greek mss and some versional evidence (69 pc ar vg). Fourth, several mss (א² [C reads δεύτερον instead of δεύτερος] 051 1611 2053 2344 Ï^A) support the reading “another, a second angel” (ἄλλος ἄγγελος δεύτερος). The reading that most likely gave rise to the others is the fourth. The first reading attempts to smooth out the grammar by placing the adjective in front of the noun. The second reading may have dropped out the “angel” on the basis of its similarity to “another” (ἄλλος). The third reading either intentionally or accidentally left out the word “second.” In any event, this is weakly attested and should not be given much consideration. (If, however, this reading had had good support, with “second” floating, and with “third” in the text in 14:9, one could possibly see δεύτερος as a motivated reading. But without sufficient support for the third reading, the one thing that is most certain is that δεύτερος was part of the original text here.) It is difficult to account for the rise of the other readings if “second” is not original. And the undisputed use of “third” (τρίτος, tritos) in 14:9 may be another indicator that the adjective “second” was in the original text. Finally, the fourth reading is the more difficult and therefore, in this case, to be accepted as the progenitor of the others.

[14:8]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And another angel, a second.”

[14:8]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “the first” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:8]  ⁴¹ tn For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

[14:8]  ⁴² sn The fall of Babylon the great city is described in detail in Rev 18:2-24.

[14:8]  ⁴³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[14:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “of the wine of the passion of the sexual immorality of her.” Here τῆς πορνείας (th" porneia") has been translated as an attributive genitive. In an ironic twist of fate, God will make Babylon drink her own mixture, but it will become the wine of his wrath in retribution for her immoral deeds (see the note on the word “wrath” in 16:19).

[18:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style

[18:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.

[18:2]  ⁴² tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”

[18:2]  ⁴³ tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some mss omitting one or the other phrase. The third phrase (“a haunt for every unclean animal” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς θηρίου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" qhriou akaqartou]), however, is more problematic since it is missing in several important mss (א C 051 Ï). The passage as a whole, including the third phrase, seems to be an allusion to Isa 13:21 and 34:11. It seems reasonable, in such a case, to assume that since there is good ms evidence to support the third phrase (A 1611 2329 al), it probably dropped out of certain mss because of its similarity to the two preceding clauses. It is the presence of all three phrases in the original that most likely gave rise to the divergent ms evidence extant today.

[18:21]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ⁴⁴ tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.

[18:21]  ⁴⁵ sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.

[18:22]  ⁴⁶ tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.

[18:22]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:22]  ⁴⁸ tn On this term BDAG 1001 s.v. τεχνίτης states, “craftsperson, artisan, designer…Of a silversmith Ac 19:24, 25 v.l., 38….Of a potter 2 Cl 8:2 (metaph., cp. Ath. 15:2). πᾶς τεχνίτης πάσης τέχνης Rv 18:22.”

[18:22]  ⁴⁹ tn This is a different Greek word (μύλος, mulos) from the one for the millstone in v. 21 (μύλινος, mulinos). See L&N 7.68.

[18:23]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ⁵⁰ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”