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Isaiah 46

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The Burden of Babylon's Gods 1–2

1
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary beast. ​
2
They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. ​

The LORD Carries His People 3–4

3
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borneby mefrom their birth, that have been carried from the womb; ​
4
and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver. ​

The Folly and Impotence of Idols 5–7

5
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? ​
6
Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship. ​
7
They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. ​

Remember the Uniqueness of God 8–11

8
Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. ​
9
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; ​
10
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; ​
11
calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it. ​

A Promise of Imminent Salvation 12–13

12
Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: ​
13
I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 46

Verse 1

Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth — Bel and Nebo are Babylon’s gods; Jer 50:2 names the same fall, ‘Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces’, and Jer 51:44 says ‘I will punish Bel in Babylon’. ‘Burden’ is massa, a load, the word that also names a prophetic oracle, as in ‘The burden of Babylon’ (Isa 13:1).

Verse 2

they could not deliver the burden — ‘Deliver’ is malat, to bring out safely, the verb of the LORD’s promise in v.4, ‘will deliver you’. The gods that were carried are themselves carried off: ‘gone into captivity’ (shevi), as Jer 48:7 says, ‘Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests’.

Verse 3

borne by me from the belly — ‘Borne’ is amas, to load, the verb of ‘heavy loaden’ in v.1. The idols are loaded on the beasts, and Israel has been loaded on the LORD from birth. Deut 1:31 gives the picture: ‘the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son’.

Verse 4

even to hoar hairs will I carry you — ‘Carry’ is sabal, the verb used in v.7 of men carrying an idol, and in 53:4 and 53:11, ‘carried our sorrows’ and ‘he shall bear their iniquities’. ‘I am he’ is the LORD’s own phrase (41:4; 43:10). Ps 71:18 prays what the verse promises: ‘when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not’.

Verse 5

To whom will ye liken me — The question is asked in 40:18 and 40:25 with damah (liken) and shavah (be equal); here mashal, to compare, is added. Ps 89:6 asks it of heaven, ‘who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD?’, and Ex 15:11 gives the answer, ‘Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?’

Verse 6

hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god — ‘Weigh’ is shaqal, the verb of 40:12, where the LORD ‘weighed the mountains in scales’; here silver is weighed out to make a god. ‘Falleth down’ (sagad) is the verb of 44:15, 17 and 19. Acts 17:29 gives the verdict on ‘gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device’.

Verse 7

yet can he not answer — ‘Answer’ is anah, the verb of 41:17, ‘I the LORD will hear them’. The god ‘standeth’ where he is set; Jer 10:5 says of such images, ‘they must needs be borne, because they cannot go’. ‘Save’ is yasha, the root of ‘salvation’ (teshuah) in v.13.

Verse 8

shew yourselves men — Ish, here a verb, ‘to act as a man’, found only in this verse. ‘Bring it again to mind’ is literally ‘return it to the heart’ (shuv, lev), the idiom of 44:19, where ‘none considereth in his heart’, and of Deut 4:39. The word ‘transgressors’ (pasha) is the ‘transgressions’ of 44:22.

Verse 9

I am God, and there is none like me — ‘God’ is said twice with two names, El and Elohim. ‘None like me’ answers the question of v.5, and Deut 33:26 says it of ‘the God of Jeshurun’, the name of 44:2. ‘The former things’ (rishonot) are the ones the LORD declared beforehand (41:22; 42:9).

Verse 10

My counsel shall stand — ‘Stand’ is qum, the verb of 40:8 and 44:26. ‘Pleasure’ is chephets, the word of 44:28, where Cyrus ‘shall perform all my pleasure’. ‘The end’ (acharit) is the ‘latter end’ of 41:22, which the idols could not declare. Prov 19:21 says it of man’s devices: ‘the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand’.

Verse 11

a ravenous bird from the east — Ayit, a bird of prey, called from the east (mizrach) as the man of 41:2 was; Isa 44:28 and 45:1 name Cyrus. ‘Purposed’ is yatsar, ‘formed’, the potter’s verb of 44:2, 21 and 24. Num 23:19 puts the principle: ‘hath he said, and shall he not do it?’

Verse 12

far from righteousness — The ‘stouthearted’ (abbir lev, strong of heart) are called far (rachoq) from righteousness, and v.13 answers with the same root: ‘it shall not be far off’ (rachaq). Isa 48:4 gives the condition, ‘thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew’.

Verse 13

I bring near my righteousness — ‘Bring near’ (qarab) answers the ‘far’ of v.12. Righteousness and salvation are named together, as in 51:5, ‘My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth’. ‘Salvation’ is teshuah, from the root of yasha, ‘save’ (v.7); it is placed ‘in Zion for Israel my glory’.