Like whirlwinds^(C) sweeping through the southland,^(D)
    an invader comes from the desert,
    from a land of terror.

⁴² The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves^(A) will cover her.

²³ “I will turn her into a place for owls^(A)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,^(B)”
    declares the Lord Almighty.^(C)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.^(C)

²⁰ She will never be inhabited^(A)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads^(B) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
²¹ But desert creatures^(C) will lie there,
    jackals^(D) will fill her houses;
there the owls^(E) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats^(F) will leap about.
²² Hyenas^(G) will inhabit her strongholds,^(H)
    jackals^(I) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,^(J)
    and her days will not be prolonged.^(K)