Isaiah 13:20

She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet Isaiah pronounces this oracle against Babylon immediately after declaring its overthrow like Sodom and Gomorrah. The message addresses Judah and the nations by contrasting the empire's former pride with its guaranteed ruin.

The words — The Hebrew תֵשֵׁ֣ב (te.Shev) and תִשְׁכֹּ֖ן (tish.Kon) literally mean "it will remain" and "it will settle." These verbs are negated by לֹֽא־ (lo'-) and וְ/לֹ֥א (ve./Lo') and bound to לָ/נֶ֔צַח (la./Ne.tzach, "to perpetuity") and עַד־ דּ֣וֹר וָ/ד֑וֹר (ad- Dor va./Dor, "until a generation and a generation") to mark absolute abandonment.

The thread — This pattern of irreversible desolation runs through Isaiah 14:23, where God vows to make Babylon a place for owls and swamplands. Jeremiah 51:43 echoes the same reality by describing her cities as a dry, arid land where no human passes through.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that human settlement and political power are not self-sustaining. It demands acceptance that divine judgment permanently removes the conditions necessary for nomadic or agricultural life.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹֽא־lo'-not תֵשֵׁ֣בte.Shevit will remain לָנֶ֔צַחla./Ne.tzachto/ perpetuity וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not תִשְׁכֹּ֖ןtish.Konit will settle עַד־'ad-until דּ֣וֹרDora generation וָד֑וֹרva./Dorand/ a generation וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not יַהֵ֥לya.Helhe will pitch a tent שָׁם֙shamthere עֲרָבִ֔י'a.ra.Vian Arab וְרֹעִ֖יםve./ro.'Imand/ shepherds לֹא־lo'-not יַרְבִּ֥צוּyar.Bi.tzuthey will make lie down שָֽׁם׃Shamthere

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Isaiah 14:23 “I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Jeremiah 51:43 Her cities have become a desolation, a dry and arid land, a land where no one lives, where no son of man passes through.
2 Chronicles 17:11 Some Philistines also brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and the Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.
Isaiah 34:10 It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.
Jeremiah 50:3 For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”
Jeremiah 50:13 Because of the wrath of the LORD, she will not be inhabited; she will become completely desolate. All who pass through Babylon will be horrified and will hiss at all her wounds.
Jeremiah 50:21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 50:39 So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
Jeremiah 50:45 Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.
Jeremiah 51:25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you; I will roll you over the cliffs and turn you into a charred mountain.