Isaiah 13:20
in Isaiah 13She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there.
KJV
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
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This verse in Isaiah 13
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
It shall never be inhabited - This has been completely fulfilled. It is now, and has been for centuries, a scene of wide desolation, and is a heap of ruins, and there is every indication that it will continue so to be. From Rauwolff’s testimony it appears, that in the sixteenth century ‘there was not a house to be seen;’ and now the ‘eye wanders over a barren desert, in which the ruins are nearly the only indication that it had ever been inhabited.
This site's exposition
Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms
on Isaiah 13:19-22
Babylon, "the jewel of the kingdoms," is measured against Sodom and Gomorrah, the standard of total ruin fixed in Israel's memory from Genesis. Desert creatures in the palaces are the Hebrew picture of a place abandoned, which Revelation later borrows for the fall of the final Babylon.
This site's exposition
no shepherd will rest his flock there
Babylon was overthrown by the Medes, as Daniel 5:30-31 records, and over many generations it ceased to be inhabited or settled. Barnes held the verse fulfilled, citing a traveller of the sixteenth century who saw no house there. Jeremiah 50:39-40 repeats the sentence.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verses 20-22.) Neither the Arabs will pitch their tents there, nor will shepherds rest there; instead, there will be beasts, their houses will be filled with dragons, and ostriches will dwell there, and hairy creatures will leap about. And owls will answer in her buildings, and sirens in the temples of pleasure. Babylon will be so devastated and deserted that it won't even be useful for pastures of cattle and flocks.
(Verse 20) You will not have the fellowship of a putrid corpse nor be buried with them. For you have destroyed your land and killed your people. LXX: Just as a garment mixed with blood cannot be clean, neither will you be clean, for you have destroyed my land and killed my people. Because there is a significant difference between the Hebrew and LXX translations, let us discuss them separately. Like a putrid corpse, or as Aquila translated, trampled, you will not have the fellowship of burial, nor even with those whom you have killed. For you are the master, they were the disciples: and to whom more is entrusted, more is required from him. For you have destroyed your land, you have killed your people, namely those who were entrusted to you for governance. Therefore, dare to say to the Savior: All these things have been entrusted to me, and I will give them to you, if you prostrate yourself and worship me (Matt. IV, 9). However, the putrid carcass of the devil cannot doubt due to the magnitude of sins, as one who reads that sin is the foulest, with the sinner himself saying: My wounds have become rotten and have festered because of my foolishness (Psalm XXXVII, 6). On the contrary, the virtue of good odor is: from which also the love of spiritual brothers is compared to an ointment, which descended upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, and upon the edge of his garment (Psalm 132). And the bridegroom speaks to the bride: Your fragrance is sweet, and your face is lovely (Song of Songs 2:14). But how the body of the devil is spiritually trampled, the Apostle teaches us: God will quickly crush Satan under your feet (Romans 16:20). And the Lord said: I will wipe them out like the mud of the streets (Ps. XVII, 43). […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, as to its perpetual solitude: it shall no more be inhabited: him that bends his bow shall not live there, and him that is armed with a coat of mail shall not go up (Jer 51:3). Third, as to the horror of its solitude, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Historians say that this was fulfilled in the letter. Benjamin Bar-Jona, in his Itinerary, speaking of Babel, has these words: "This is that Babel which was of old thirty miles in breadth; it is now laid waste.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the L ORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v3-4
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It shall never be inhabited,.... As it has not been since its utter destruction.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵשֵׁ֣ב | teshev | it will remain | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לָנֶ֔צַח | lanetzach | to perpetuity | H5331 → | 43 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁכֹּ֖ן | tishkon | it will settle | H7931 → | 129 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| דּ֣וֹר | dor | a generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
| וָד֑וֹר | vador | and a generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַהֵ֥ל | yahel | he will pitch a tent | H167 → | |
| שָׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עֲרָבִ֔י | ʾaravi | an Arab | H6163 → | |
| וְרֹעִ֖ים | veroim | and shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַרְבִּ֥צוּ | yarbitzu | they will make lie down | H7257 → | 30 times |
| שָֽׁם׃ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֵשֵׁ֣בit will remain
teshevH3427 →1079 times
לָנֶ֔צַחto perpetuity
lanetzachH5331 →43 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁכֹּ֖ןit will settle
tishkonH7931 →129 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
דּ֣וֹרa generation
dorH1755 →167 times
וָד֑וֹרand a generation
vadorH1755 →167 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַהֵ֥לhe will pitch a tent
yahelH167 →
שָׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
עֲרָבִ֔יan Arab
ʾaraviH6163 →
וְרֹעִ֖יםand shepherds
veroimH7462 →177 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַרְבִּ֥צוּthey will make lie down
yarbitzuH7257 →30 times
שָֽׁם׃there
shamH8033 →834 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 14:23“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 2:14
Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie…
- Isaiah 34:11–15
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…
- 1 Kings 14:10
Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house…
- Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- Isaiah 13:21–22
But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about.
- Zephaniah 2:14
Through
Jeremiah 51:29The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:11–12
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of…
- Jeremiah 8:16
The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city…
- Jeremiah 51:11–12
Through
Jeremiah 50:45Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:20
Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away;…
- Jeremiah 49:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.