Isaiah 13 · Verse 20

Isaiah 13:20

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.
Isaiah 13:20, King James Version

Isaiah 13:20 in other translations

BSBShe will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.
WEBIt will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
ASVIt 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.
YLTShe doth not sit for ever, Nor continueth unto many generations, Nor doth Arab pitch tent there, And shepherds lie not down there.
DARBYIt shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in, even to generation and generation; nor shall Arabian pitch tent there, nor shepherds make fold there.
BBEPeople will never be living in it again, and it will have no more men from generation to generation: the Arab will not put up his tent there; and those who keep sheep will not make it a resting-place for their flocks.
WebsterIt 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.

What does Isaiah 13:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. Literally fulfilled. neither ... Arabian pitch tent--Not only shall it not be a permanent residence, but not even a temporary resting-place. The Arabs, through dread of evil spirits, and believing the ghost of Nimrod to haunt it, will not pass the night there (compare Is 13:21). neither ... shepherds--The region was once most fertile; but owing to the Euphrates being now no longer kept within its former channels, it has become a stagnant marsh, unfit for flocks; and on the wastes of its ruins (bricks and cement) no grass grows.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 13:19-22

Babylon was a noble city; yet it should be wholly destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled. The fate of this proud city is a proof of the truth of the Bible, and an emblem of the approaching ruin of the New Testament Babylon; a warning to sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and it encourages believers to expect victory over every enemy of their souls, and of…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 13:19-22 →

Isaiah 13:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
תֵשֵׁ֣בte.Shevit will remainH3427
לָנֶ֔צַחla.Ne.tzachto perpetuityH5331
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
תִשְׁכֹּ֖ןtish.Konit will settleH7931
עַד\־'ad-untilH5704
דּ֣וֹרDora generationH1755
וָד֑וֹרva.Dorand a generationH1755
וְלֹֽא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
יַהֵ֥לya.Helhe will pitch a tentH167
שָׁם֙shamthereH8033
עֲרָבִ֔י'a.ra.Vian ArabH6163
וְרֹעִ֖יםve.ro.'Imand shepherdsH7462
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
יַרְבִּ֥צוּyar.Bi.tzuthey will make lie downH7257
שָֽׁם\׃ShamthereH8033

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 13:20

  • Jeremiah 51:43

    Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

  • Isaiah 14:23

    I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Jeremiah 50:45

    Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.

  • 2 Chronicles 17:11

    Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.

  • Jeremiah 50:3

    For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

  • Jeremiah 51:29

    And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

  • Jeremiah 50:21

    Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.

  • Jeremiah 51:25

    Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

  • Isaiah 34:10-15

    It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. …

  • Jeremiah 50:39

    Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

  • Jeremiah 50:13

    Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

  • Jeremiah 51:37

    And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:23; Jer 50:3,13,21,39,45; 51:25,29,43,62-64; Re 18:21-23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 13:19

    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

  • Isaiah 13:20

    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.

  • Isaiah 13:21

    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.

Read all of Isaiah 13

Isaiah 13:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Nunca más será habitada, ni se morará en ella de generación en generación; ni hincará allí tienda el Arabe, ni pastores tendrán allí majada:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Elle ne sera jamais habitée, et on n’y demeurera pas, de génération en génération, et l’Arabe n’y dressera pas sa tente, et les bergers n’y feront pas reposer leurs troupeaux;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Es wird in Ewigkeit nicht bewohnt werden, und keine Niederlassung mehr sein von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht; und der Araber wird dort nicht zelten, und Hirten werden dort nicht lagern lassen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non habitabitur usque in finem, et non fundabitur usque ad generationem et generationem; nec ponet ibi tentoria Arabs, nec pastores requiescent ibi.