Isaiah 46:1

Isaiah 46:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight.

Context of Isaiah 46:1

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. 2They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity. 3“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.

Isaiah 46:1 word by word

כָּרַ֥ע בֵּל֙ קֹרֵ֣ס נְב֔וֹ הָיוּ֙ עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֔ם לַחַיָּ֖ה וְלַבְּהֵמָ֑ה נְשֻׂאֹתֵיכֶ֣ם עֲמוּס֔וֹת מַשָּׂ֖א לַעֲיֵפָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Belבֵּלbêl · BelH1078
• boweth downכָּרַעkâra‛ · to bowH3766
• Neboנְבוֹnebô · NeboH5015
• stoopethקָרַסqâras · to stoopH7164
• their idolsעָצָב‛âtsâb · idolH6091
• were upon the beastsחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
• and upon the cattleבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929
• your carriagesנְשׂוּאָהneώû'âh neώû'âh · burdenH5385
• heavy loadenעָמַס‛âmas ‛âmaώ · loadH6006
• a burdenמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · burdenH4853
• to the wearyעָיֵף‛âyêph · faintH5889

Cross-references for Isaiah 46:1

• Isaiah 21:9Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’ ”
• Isaiah 41:6they help each other and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
• Exodus 12:12“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 5:3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place.
• Jeremiah 48:1Concerning Moab: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered.
• Jeremiah 50:2“Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, ‘Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.’
• Jeremiah 51:44I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall.
• Isaiah 2:20In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.
• Jeremiah 10:5Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 46:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Their carriages were heavy loaden "Their burdens are heavy" - For נשאתיכם nesuotheychem, your burdens, the Septuagint had in their copy נשאתיהם nesuotheyhem, their burdens.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Bel boweth down - Bel or Belus (בל bēl from בעל be‛ēl the same as בעל ba‛al was the chief domestic god of the Babylonians, and was worshipped in the celebrated tower of Babylon (compare Jeremiah 50:2; Jeremiah 51:44). It was usual to compound names of the titles of the divinities that were worshipped, and hence, we often meet with this name, as in Bel-shazzar, Bel-teshazzar, Baal-Peor, Baal-zebub, Baal-Gad, Baal-Berith. The Greek and Roman writers…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The idols could not save themselves, but God saves his people. (Is. 46:1-4) The folly of worshipping idols. (Is. 46:5-13) Verses 1-4 The heathen insulted the Jews, as if their idols Bel and Nebo were too hard for Jehovah. But their worshippers cannot help them; both the idols and the idolaters are gone into captivity. Let not God's people be afraid of either. Those things from which ungodly men expect safety and happiness, will be found unable to save…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Marduk-bel was the most important god in the Babylonian group of gods. Bel, similar to Baal, meant lordship. Nebo (Nabu, Nebu), the patron god of Babylonian scribes, was believed to be the son of Marduk-bel. Instead of being celebrated at a Babylonian festival, people would transport these gods on ox carts and discard them, as the Babylonian people rejected them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-131. Bel--the same as the Phoenician Baal, that is, lord, the chief god of Babylon; to it was dedicated the celebrated tower of Babylon, in the center of one of the two parts into which the city was divided, the palace being in the center of the other. Identical with the sun, worshipped on turrets, housetops, and other high places, so as to be nearer the heavenly hosts (Saba) (Jr 19:13; 32:29; Zep 1:5). Gesenius identifies Bel with the planet Jupiter…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 46:1

• Babylon
• Bel
• Idolatry
• Nebo

In the dictionaries

• Bel
• Carriage
• Nebo
• Pleasure
• Purpose
• Astrology
• Bear; Borne
• Bel, and the Dragon
• Dagon
• Evil

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