Isaiah 13:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about.

NASB: 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.

CSB: But desert creatures will lie down there, and owls will fill the houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.

NLT: 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.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.

In delivering a message from God, Isaiah has been painting a picture of how radically the city of Babylon will be transformed after God's judgment has fallen on it. The human population will be decimated, leaving no people behind to inhabit it (Isaiah 13:12). The city that was once the pinnacle of human glory and culture in the ancient world will be cut down to nothing.

In place of the people, wild animals will make their home in the rubble of the streets. Howling creatures will move into the ruins of the once-opulent homes. Ostriches and goats will dwell there instead of the people who once partied in lavish style.

To some, this recalls pictures of thriving cities during the lockdowns of the COVID–19 pandemic. Famous spots usually swarmed by thousands of tourists and citizens were empty and eerily quiet. In some cases, wild animals were caught by cameras wandering the streets. What's described here is far more severe, like a post-apocalypse story. The area will be entirely ruined and absent from human control. It would not take long for the animal world to reclaim a city that has been emptied of humanity.

Isaiah 13:1–22 contains Isaiah's prophecy from the Lord. This is against the dominant power of Babylon, which would arise after the defeat of the Assyrians. The Lord will assemble and consecrate an international army to attack and obliterate the powerful city-state of Babylon. The people will tremble in fear as the Lord executes His judgment out of His great wrath toward the arrogant and ruthless Babylonians. The population will be slaughtered without mercy and the land left desolate. When it's over, only wild animals will walk the streets of the once-splendid city.

Chapter 13 begins a new section in the book of Isaiah, which focuses on prophecies against other nations besides Israel. It begins by describing the Lord's destruction of the city-state of Babylon. This will come after it has become a dominating power in the world. The Lord will assemble a multi-nation army to attack the city and leave the land completely desolate. All who flee will be hunted and killed. The Medes will slaughter even pregnant women and children without mercy. When it is all over, only wild animals will occupy the once luxurious center of human achievement and sophistication.

Isaiah has been discussing the eventual rescue and restoration of Israel (Isaiah 10–12). Chapter 13 introduces an entirely new section in Isaiah's book: prophecies from the Lord against Gentile nations. First is a prediction of the utter destruction of Babylon. That nation had been the dominant power in the world. The Lord will assemble a multi-nation army from near and far to destroy the luxurious and powerful city-state on the Euphrates. This is followed by reassurances and further details of God's vengeance on Israel's other oppressors.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).