New International Version
Isaiah 46:3
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 46:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.
Context of Isaiah 46:3
1Bel 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. “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. 4Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. 5“With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
Read all of Isaiah 46Isaiah 46:3 word by word
שִׁמְע֤וּ אֵלַי֙ בֵּ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְכָל־שְׁאֵרִ֖ית בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הַֽעֲמֻסִים֙ מִנִּי־בֶ֔טֶן הַנְּשֻׂאִ֖ים מִנִּי־רָֽחַם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- unto me, O houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- and all the remnantשְׁאֵרִיתshe'êrîyth · remnantH7611
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- which are borneעָמַס‛âmas ‛âmaώ · loadH6006
- from the bellyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
- which are carriedנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
- from the wombרַחַםracham · wombH7356
Cross-references for Isaiah 46:3
- Isaiah 44:1“But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
- Isaiah 48:1“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness—
- Isaiah 51:1“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
- Psalms 81:8Hear me, my people, and I will warn you— if you would only listen to me, Israel!
- Isaiah 1:9Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 10:22Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.
- Isaiah 11:11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
- Isaiah 37:4It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
- Isaiah 49:1Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
- Isaiah 63:9In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
- Exodus 19:4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
- Deuteronomy 1:31and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
- Deuteronomy 32:11like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.
- Psalms 22:9Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
- Psalms 71:6From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.
- Ezekiel 16:6“ ‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”
Commentaries on Isaiah 46:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Which are borne by me from the belly "Ye that have been borne by me from the birth" - The prophet very ingeniously, and with great force, contrasts the power of God, and his tender goodness effectually exerted towards his people, with the inability of the false gods of the heathen. He like an indulgent father had carried his people in his arms, "as a man carrieth his son," Deuteronomy 1:31. He had protected them, and delivered them from their distresses…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Hearken unto me - From this view of the captive gods, the address is now turned to the Jews. The utter vanity of the idols had been set before them; and in view of that, God now addresses his own people, and entreats them to put their trust in him. The address he commences with words of great tenderness and endearment, designed to lead them to confide in him as their Father and friend. And all the remnant - All who were left from slaughter, and all who…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3the remnant of the house of Israel: This refers to the survivors after Jerusalem's destruction in 586 BC. The Lord, the Creator of humanity, cares for and carries his people, unlike the Babylonian idols that need carrying. sustained from the womb, carried along since birth: The Lord chose Israel even before it became a nation (see also Isaiah 49:5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. in contrast to what precedes: Babylon's idols, so far from bearing its people safely are themselves borne off, a burden to the laden beast; but Jehovah bears His people in safety even from the womb to old age (Is 63:9; De 32:11; Psa 71:6, 18). God compares Himself to a nurse tenderly carrying a child; contrast Moses' language (Nu 11:12).Read the comment
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries