You have made the city a pile of rocks and have destroyed her walls. The city our enemies built with strong walls is gone; it will never be built again.
The palace will be empty; people will leave the noisy city. Strong cities and towers will be empty. Wild donkeys will love to live there, and sheep will go there to eat.
Even the wild animals will be thankful to me— the wild dogs and owls. They will honor me when I put water in the desert and rivers in the dry land to give water to my people, the ones I chose.
This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “The city of Babylon is like a threshing floor, where people crush the grain at harvest time. The time to harvest Babylon is coming soon.”
It is not yet time for the message to come true, but that time is coming soon; the message will come true. It may seem like a long time, but be patient and wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not be delayed.
Flocks and herds will lie down there, and all wild animals. The owls and crows will sit on the stone pillars. The owl will hoot through the windows, trash will be in the doorways, and the wooden boards of the buildings will be gone.
I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them. Soon their foot will slip, because their day of trouble is near, and their punishment will come quickly.”
Those false teachers only want your money, so they will use you by telling you lies. Their judgment spoken against them long ago is still coming, and their ruin is certain.