Isaiah 46
New English Translation
The Lord Carries His People
46 Bel[a] kneels down,
Nebo[b] bends low.
Their images weigh down animals and beasts.[c]
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.[d]
2 Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images;[e]
they themselves[f] head off into captivity.[g]
3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,[h]
all you who are left from the family of Israel,[i]
you who have been carried from birth,[j]
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb.[k]
4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you,[l]
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you.[m]
5 To whom can you compare and liken me?
Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared!
6 Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale[n]
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not[o] move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
8 Remember this, so you can be brave.[p]
Think about it, you rebels![q]
9 Remember what I accomplished in antiquity.[r]
Truly I am God, I have no peer;[s]
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand[t] what has not yet occurred;
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire;’
11 who summons an eagle[u] from the east,
from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.
Yes, I have decreed,[v]
yes, I will bring it to pass;
I have formulated a plan,
yes, I will carry it out.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people,[w]
you who distance yourselves from doing what is right.[x]
13 I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;
I am bringing my salvation near,[y] it does not wait.
I will save Zion;[z]
I will adorn Israel with my splendor.[aa]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:1 sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.
- Isaiah 46:1 sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.
- Isaiah 46:1 tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”
- Isaiah 46:1 tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”
- Isaiah 46:2 tn Heb “[the] burden,” i.e., their images, the heavy burden carried by the animals.
- Isaiah 46:2 tn Heb “Their soul/life has gone into captivity.
- Isaiah 46:2 sn The downfall of Babylon is depicted here. The idols are carried off by the victorious enemy; the gods are likened to defeated captives who cower before the enemy and are taken into exile.
- Isaiah 46:3 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV “descendants of Jacob.”
- Isaiah 46:3 tn Heb “and all the remnant of the house of Israel.”
- Isaiah 46:3 tn Heb “from the womb” (so NRSV); KJV “from the belly”; NAB “from your infancy.”
- Isaiah 46:3 tn Heb “who have been lifted up from the womb.”
- Isaiah 46:4 tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”
- Isaiah 46:4 sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.
- Isaiah 46:6 tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.
- Isaiah 46:7 tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.
- Isaiah 46:8 tn The meaning of the verb אָשַׁשׁ (ʾashash, which appears here in the Hitpolel stem) is uncertain. BDB 84 s.v. אשׁשׁ relates it to a root meaning “found, establish” in Arabic; HALOT 100 s.v. II אשׁשׁ gives the meaning “pluck up courage.” The imperative with vav (ו) may indicate purpose following the preceding imperative.
- Isaiah 46:8 tn Heb “return [it], rebels, to heart”; NRSV “recall it to mind, you transgressors.”
- Isaiah 46:9 tn Heb “remember the former things, from antiquity”; KJV, ASV “the former things of old.”
- Isaiah 46:9 tn Heb “and there is no other” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 46:10 tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”
- Isaiah 46:11 tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).
- Isaiah 46:11 tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”
- Isaiah 46:12 tn Heb “strong of heart [or, mind]”; KJV “stouthearted”; NAB “fainthearted”; NIV “stubborn-hearted.”
- Isaiah 46:12 tn Heb “who are far from righteousness [or perhaps, “deliverance”].”
- Isaiah 46:13 tn Heb “my salvation.” The verb “I am bringing near” is understood by ellipsis (note the previous line).
- Isaiah 46:13 tn Heb “I will place in Zion salvation”; NASB “I will grant salvation in Zion.”
- Isaiah 46:13 tn Heb “to Israel my splendor”; KJV, ASV “for Israel my glory.”
Isaiah 46
Easy-to-Read Version
False Gods Are Useless
46 The Lord says, “Bel has fallen to the ground. Nebo[a] is kneeling before me.
“Men put those idols on the backs of animals. They are only heavy burdens that must be carried. They do nothing but make people tired. 2 But they all bowed down and fell to the ground. They couldn’t escape; they were all carried away like prisoners.
3 “Family of Jacob, listen to me! You who are left from the family of Israel, listen! I have carried you since you left your mother’s womb. I carried you when you were born, 4 and I will still be carrying you when you are old. Your hair will turn gray, and I will still carry you. I made you, and I will carry you to safety.
5 “Can you compare me to anyone? No one is equal to me. You cannot understand everything about me. There is nothing like me. 6 Some people are rich with gold and silver. Gold falls from their purses, and they weigh their silver on scales. They pay an artist to make a false god from wood. Then they bow down and worship that false god. 7 They put their false god on their shoulders and carry it. That false god is useless; people have to carry it! People set the statue on the ground, and it cannot move. That false god never walks away from its place. People can yell at it, but it will not answer. That false god is only a statue; it cannot save people from their troubles.
8 “Sinners, change your heart and mind. Think about this again. Remember it and be strong. 9 Remember what happened long ago. Remember, I am God and there is no other God. There is no other like me.
10 “In the beginning, I told you what would happen in the end. A long time ago, I told you things that have not happened yet. When I plan something, it happens. I do whatever I want to do. 11 I am calling a man from the east to do what I want. He will come like an eagle from a faraway country. He will do all that I have planned. Everything I said will happen just as I said it would.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn[b] people! You are far from doing what is right. 13 But I am close to making things right. Salvation will not be delayed much longer. I will bring salvation to Zion and to my wonderful Israel.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:1 Nebo A false god of Babylon.
- Isaiah 46:12 stubborn Literally, “mighty of heart.”
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