Isaiah 46:1-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
46 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and cattle;
these things you carry are loaded
as burdens on weary animals.(A)
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden
but themselves go into captivity.(B)
3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb;(C)
4 even to your old age I am he;
even when you turn gray I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.(D)
5 To whom will you liken me and make me equal
and compare me, as though we were alike?(E)
6 Those who lavish gold from the purse
and weigh out silver in the scales—
they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!(F)
7 They lift it to their shoulders; they carry it;
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries out to it, it does not answer
or save anyone from trouble.(G)
Isaiah 46:1-7
International Standard Version
God is Unique and Eternal
46 “Bel[a] bows down, Nebo[b] stoops low.
Their idols are on beasts, on[c] livestock.
Your loads are more burdensome than their reports.[d]
2 They stoop, they bow down together,
and[e] they are not able to rescue the burden,
but they themselves go off[f] into captivity.
3 “Listen[g] to me, house of Jacob,
and all you remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been upheld from before your birth,
and who have been carried from the womb.
4 Even[h] until your[i] old age, I am the one,
and I’ll carry you even until your gray hairs come.[j]
It is I who have created,[k] and I who will carry,
and it is I who will bear and save.
5 “To whom will you compare me,
count me equal,[l] or liken me,
so that I[m] may be compared?
6 Those who pour out gold in[n] a purse,
weigh silver in a balance,
hire a goldsmith in order to make[o] a god,
and then[p] they bow down and even worship it.
7 And[q] they lift it on their shoulders, carry it,
set it up in its place, and there it stands.
It cannot move[r] from that spot.
One may even call to[s] it, but it cannot answer
nor save him from his distress.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:1 I.e. the Babylonian sun god Marduk
- Isaiah 46:1 I.e. Nabu, the Babylonian god of astronomy and learning, son of Marduk
- Isaiah 46:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and on
- Isaiah 46:1 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT LXX read burdensome, a load for the weary
- Isaiah 46:2 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 46:2 So 1QIsaa LXX (pl.); 4QIsab MT (sing.)
- Isaiah 46:3 So 1QIsaa (sing.); MT LXX (pl.)
- Isaiah 46:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and even
- Isaiah 46:4 1QIsaa MT LXX lack your
- Isaiah 46:4 1QIsaa MT LXX lack come
- Isaiah 46:4 Or made
- Isaiah 46:5 So 1QIsaa (sing.); 1QIsab MT read consider equal (pl.); LXX reads see
- Isaiah 46:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads we
- Isaiah 46:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read from
- Isaiah 46:6 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsab MT read make it
- Isaiah 46:6 Lit. and; so 1QIsaa 1QIsab LXX; MT lacks then
- Isaiah 46:7 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack And
- Isaiah 46:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads one cannot remove it
- Isaiah 46:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads may cry out
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