Isaiah 46:2

Isaiah 46:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
• New International Version (NIV)They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.

Context of Isaiah 46:2

1Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal. The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity. 3“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. 4Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

Isaiah 46:2 word by word

קָרְס֤וּ כָֽרְעוּ֙ יַחְדָּ֔ו לֹ֥א יָכְל֖וּ מַלֵּ֣ט מַשָּׂ֑א וְנַפְשָׁ֖ם בַּשְּׁבִ֥י הָלָֽכָה׃ סRead the interlinear

• The gods cowerקָרַסqâras · to stoopH7164
• they crouchכָּרַעkâra‛ · to bowH3766
• togetherיָחְדָּוyachad · togetherH3162
• unableלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• unableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to relieveמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422
• the burdenמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · burdenH4853
• but theyנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• themselves goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• into captivityשְׁבִיshebîy · captivityH7628

Cross-references for Isaiah 46:2

• Isaiah 36:18Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
• Isaiah 37:12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
• Isaiah 44:17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
• Isaiah 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
• Judges 18:17And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.
• 2 Samuel 5:21There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away.
• Jeremiah 43:12I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed.
• Jeremiah 48:7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.

Commentaries on Isaiah 46:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2They could not deliver the burden "They could not deliver their own charge" - That is, their worshippers, who ought to have been borne by them. See the two next verses. The Chaldee and Syriac Versions render it in effect to the same purpose, those that bear them, meaning their worshippers; but how they can render משא massa in an active sense, I do not understand. For לא lo, not, ולא velo, and they could not, is the reading of twenty-four of Kennicott's…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2They stoop - Bel, and Nebo, and all the Babylonian gods (see Isaiah 46:1). They could not deliver the burden - The word burden‘ here, probably means the load of metal, wood, and stone, of which the idols were composed. The gods whom the Babylonians worshipped had not even power to protect the images which were made to represent them, and which had now become a heavy burden to the animals and wains which were carrying them away. They could not rescue them…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2This taunt was against the self-contradiction of Babylonian religion. A taunt is a mocking song or speech. In this passage, the prophet makes fun of Babylon’s beliefs. The message shows that their religion does not make sense.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. deliver--from the enemies' hands. burden--their images laid on the beasts (Is 46:1). themselves--the gods, here also distinguished from their images.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 46:2

• Babylon
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Pleasure
• Purpose
• Bear; Borne
• Deliver
• Evil
• Isaiah
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Saviour
• Gate

Commentaries on Isaiah 46

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings