BibleInTonguesWEB
Isaiah 46
Babylon's two great gods, Bel and Nebo, open the chapter slumped on the backs of pack animals — dead weight that has to be hauled into captivity. Isaiah sets that picture against the LORD, who carries Israel rather than being carried, from the womb to gray hairs. Watch the verbs of carrying. An idol is a burden you lift; the living God lifts you. The taunt then sharpens into a claim about who alone can announce the end from the beginning and summon the conqueror from the east.
- 1
Bel bows down. Nebo stoops. Their idols are carried by animals, and on the livestock. The things that you carried around are heavy loads, a burden for the weary.
- 2
They stoop and they bow down together. They could not deliver the burden, but they have gone into captivity.
- 3
“Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been carried from their birth, that have been carried from the womb.
- 4
Even to old age I am he, and even to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear. Yes, I will carry, and will deliver.
- 5
“To whom will you compare me, and consider my equal, and compare me, as if we were the same?
- 6
Some pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver in the balance. They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god. They fall down— yes, they worship.
- 7
They bear it on their shoulder. They carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. Yes, one may cry to it, yet it can not answer. It cannot save him out of his trouble.
- 8
“Remember this, and show yourselves men. Bring it to mind again, you transgressors.
- 9
Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me.
- 10
I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
- 11
I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.
- 12
Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness!
- 13
I bring my righteousness near. It is not far off, and my salvation will not wait. I will grant salvation to Zion, my glory to Israel.
- 1
POSTRÓSE Bel, abatióse Nebo; sus simulacros fueron puestos sobre bestias, y sobre animales de carga : os llevarán cargados de vosotros, carga penosa.
- 2
Fueron humillados, fueron abatidos juntamente; no pudieron escaparse de la carga, sino que tuvieron ellos mismos que ir en cautiverio.
- 3
Oidme, oh casa de Jacob, y todo el resto de la casa de Israel, los que sois traídos por mí desde el vientre, los que sois llevados desde la matriz.
- 4
Y hasta la vejez yo mismo, y hasta las canas os soportaré yo: yo hice, yo llevaré, yo soportaré y guardaré.
- 5
¿A quién me asemejáis, y me igualáis, y me comparáis, para que sea semejante?
- 6
Sacan oro del talego, y pesan plata con balanzas, alquilan un platero para hacer un dios de ello; humíllanse y adoran.
- 7
Echanselo sobre los hombros, llévanlo, y asiéntanlo en su lugar; allí se está, y no se mueve de su sitio. Danle voces, y tampoco responde, ni libra de la tribulación.
- 8
Acordaos de esto, y tened vergüenza; tornad en vosotros, prevaricadores.
- 9
Acordaos de las cosas pasadas desde el siglo; porque yo soy Dios, y no hay más Dios, y nada hay á mí semejante;
- 10
Que anuncio lo por venir desde el principio, y desde antiguo lo que aun no era hecho; que digo: Mi consejo permanecerá, y haré todo lo que quisiere;
- 11
Que llamo desde el oriente al ave, y de tierra lejana al varón de mi consejo. Yo hablé, y lo haré venir: he lo pensado, y también lo haré.
- 12
Oidme, duros de corazón, que estáis lejos de la justicia.
- 13
Haré que se acerque mi justicia, no se alejará: y mi salud no se detendrá. Y pondré salud en Sión, y mi gloria en Israel.
The idol you carry vs. the God who carries you
The argument is built on a reversal. In verses 1-2 the famous Babylonian deities cannot even rescue their own statues; in verses 3-4 the LORD promises to bear Israel "even to gray hairs." Worship is redefined by direction: dead gods are luggage, the true God is the one doing the lifting.
Verses 9-11 ground the boast in prophecy: only the one who declares things "not yet done" and calls a bird of prey from the east — Cyrus, named earlier in 45 — can prove the difference. The stubborn-hearted of verse 12 are warned that salvation is already near, not far off.
Context layers
Keep these closed by default and open them only when you want more context.
- RighteousnessWhat righteousness means in the Bible, how it relates to justice and right standing, and why it cannot be reduced to private morality.
- SalvationWhat salvation means in the Bible, how it relates to rescue from sin and judgment, and where to read it clearly.
- WorshipWhat worship means in the Bible, how it goes beyond music, and where Scripture shows its full shape most clearly.
- Psalms 40:1Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- Isaiah 40:31Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- Lamentations 3:25Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- Romans 8:25Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- James 5:7Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- Psalms 25:5Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- Isaiah 12:2Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
- Isaiah 33:2Related through the topic "Waiting on God".
Share a small range via:
/en/web/isaiah/46/16-18
Or use the Passage link builder.