Isaiah 46
EasyEnglish Bible
Babylon's false gods have no power
46 Bel bends down to the ground.
Nebo lies down low.[a]
Their images are heavy loads on the backs of animals.
The animals become tired and weak as they carry them away.
2 Those gods fall down and they lie together on the ground!
They have no power to rescue their images.
The gods themselves go as prisoners to a foreign land,
together with their images.
3 The Lord says,
‘Listen to me, you family of Jacob.
Yes, listen to me, all you Israelites who are still alive.
I have taken care of you since you first became a nation.
I have carried you since you were born.
4 I will continue to take care of you until you are old,
until your hair becomes grey.
I made you who you are,
and I will supply everything that you need.
I will carry you,
and I will save you.
5 You know that there is no God like me!
You cannot say about any god,
that he is the same as me.
6 Some people make idols for themselves.
They pour out gold coins from their purse.
They weigh silver on their scales.
They pay a worker with special skill to use the silver and the gold
to make a god.
Then they bend down low in front of it,
and they worship it!
7 They lift the idol onto their shoulders
and they carry it home.
They put it in its place and it stands there.
It cannot move anywhere else.
If someone calls out to it for help,
it does not answer.
It cannot save anyone from their trouble.
8 Remember this, you people who do not obey me.
Think about it carefully.
9 Remember all the things that I did a long time ago.
I am God. There is nobody else like me.
There is no other God, except me.
10 From the beginning, I say what will happen at the end.
Long ago, I spoke about future things that have not yet happened.
I say this: “My purpose will not change.
I will do everything that I want to do.”
11 Now I will call somebody to come from the east.
He will come down quickly,
like an eagle that catches small birds to eat.
He will come from a country that is far away.
He will do for me what I want to do.
Yes, I will surely do what I have decided to do.
I have given the command,
and I will cause it to happen.
12 Listen to me, you people who refuse to obey me.
You choose not to do anything that is right.
13 But now I am ready to rescue you,
and I will show you what is right.
This will soon happen!
I will save the people in Zion.
I will make Israel great and beautiful.’
Footnotes
- 46:1 Bel and Nebo were gods of Babylon.
Jesaja 46
Luther Bibel 1545
46 Der Bel ist gebeugt, der Nebo ist gefallen, ihre Götzen sind den Tieren und dem Vieh zuteil geworden, daß sie sich müde tragen an eurer Last.
2 Ja, sie fallen und beugen sich allesamt und können die Last nicht wegbringen; sondern ihre Seelen müssen ins Gefängnis gehen.
3 Höret mir zu, ihr vom Hause Jakob und alle übrigen vom Hause Israel, die ihr von mir getragen werdet von Mutterleibe an und von der Mutter her auf mir liegt.
4 Ja, ich will euch tragen bis ins Alter und bis ihr grau werdet. Ich will es tun, ich will heben und tragen und erretten.
5 Nach wem bildet und wem vergleicht ihr mich denn? Gegen wen messet ihr mich, dem ich gleich sein solle?
6 Sie schütten das Gold aus dem Beutel und wägen dar das Silber mit der Waage und lohnen dem Goldschmied, daß er einen Gott daraus mache, vor dem sie knieen und anbeten.
7 Sie heben ihn auf die Achseln und tragen ihn und setzen ihn an seine Stätte. Da steht er und kommt von seinem Ort nicht. Schreit einer zu ihm, so antwortet er nicht und hilft ihm nicht aus seiner Not.
8 An solches gedenket doch und seid fest; ihr Übertreter, gehet in euer Herz!
9 Gedenket des Vorigen von alters her; denn ich bin Gott, und keiner mehr, ein Gott, desgleichen nirgend ist,
10 der ich verkündige zuvor, was hernach kommen soll, und vorlängst, ehe denn es geschieht, und sage: Mein Anschlag besteht, und ich tue alles, was mir gefällt.
11 Ich rufe einen Adler vom Aufgang und einen Mann, der meinen Anschlag tue, aus fernem Lande. Was ich sage, das lasse ich kommen; was ich denke, das tue ich auch.
12 Höret mir zu, ihr stolzen Herzen, die ihr ferne seid von der Gerechtigkeit.
13 Ich habe meine Gerechtigkeit nahe gebracht; sie ist nicht ferne und mein Heil säumt nicht; denn ich will zu Zion das Heil geben und in Israel meine Herrlichkeit.
Isaiah 46
New International Version
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(A) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(B) are borne by beasts of burden.[a]
The images that are carried(C) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(D)
3 “Listen(E) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(F) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(G)
and have carried(H) since you were born.(I)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(J)
I am he,(K) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(L) you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?(M)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(N) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(O)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(P) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(Q)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(R)
it cannot save(S) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(T) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(U)
9 Remember the former things,(V) those of long ago;(W)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(X)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(Y)
from ancient times,(Z) what is still to come.(AA)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(AB)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(AC) a bird of prey;(AD)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(AE) that I will do.(AF)
12 Listen(AG) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(AH)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(AI)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(AJ) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(AK) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(AL)
my splendor(AM) to Israel.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
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