Isaiah 13:21

But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet delivers an oracle against Babylon, forecasting the permanent desolation of the city following its imminent divine judgment.

The words — The Hebrew term צִיִּים (tzi.Yim) denotes desert-dwellers or desert creatures, while אֹחִ֑ים ('o.Chim) specifically identifies jackals. These lexical choices mark the complete displacement of human inhabitants by wild animals.

The thread — This pattern of abandoned urban spaces reclaimed by scavengers appears in Isaiah 34:11 and Revelation 18:2, where ruined cities become lairs for demons and wild birds.

Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge that human fortifications and settlements are temporary, and that divine judgment guarantees their irreversible return to uninhabited wilderness.

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

וְרָבְצוּ־ve./ra.ve.tzu-and/ they will lie down שָׁ֣םshamthere צִיִּ֔יםtzi.Yimdesert-dwellers וּמָלְא֥וּu./mal.'Uand/ they will be full בָתֵּיהֶ֖םva.tei./Hemhouses/ their אֹחִ֑ים'o.Chimjackals וְשָׁ֤כְנוּve./Sha.khe.nuand/ they will dwell שָׁם֙shamthere בְּנ֣וֹתbe.Notdaughters of יַֽעֲנָ֔הya.'a.Nahan ostrich וּשְׂעִירִ֖יםu./se.'i.Rimand/ goats יְרַקְּדוּ־ye.ra.ke.du-they will leap about שָֽׁם׃Shamthere

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Revelation 18:2 And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
Isaiah 34:11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.