“See!
I am stirring up the Medes
Against them.
They have no regard for silver.
They 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.
Babylon,
The glory of kingdoms,
The splendor of the Chaldeans,
The pride of the Chaldeans,
Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
When God overthrew them.
It will never be inhabited.
No one will live in for all generations.
Arabs wills not pitch their tents there.
Shepherds will not make their flocks
Lie down there.
But wild animals will
Lie down there.
Its houses
Will be full of howling creatures.
Ostriches will live there.
Goat demons will dance there.
Hyenas will cry in its towers.
Jackals will be in the pleasant palaces.
Its time is close at hand.
Its days will not be prolonged.”
Very clearly, this is all about the destruction of the city of Babylon. Yahweh will get the people of Medes, an area northwest of Persia, who don’t care about gold and silver, to come and slaughter the young men and the children of Babylon. The glorious Babylon, the pride of the Chaldeans, who were the southern Babylonians, would become like the people in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis, chapters 18-19. There seems to be a fascination with these 2 biblical towns. After this defeat, the city of Babylon would never be inhabited again. Neither wandering Arabs nor shepherds would go there. Only wild animals and howling creatures, like goats, ostriches, hyenas, and jackals would live there in those great buildings. The time of their destruction was at hand. You would not have to wait a long time.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 