New Living Translation
Isaiah 46:1
1Bel 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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.
Context of Isaiah 46:1
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. 2Both the idols and their owners are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together. 3“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.
Read all of Isaiah 46Isaiah 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 21:9Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!”
- Isaiah 41:6The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “Be strong!”
- Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!
- 1 Samuel 5:3But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.
- Jeremiah 48:1This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo; it will soon lie in ruins. The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured; the fortress will be humiliated and broken down.
- Jeremiah 50:2This is what the Lord says: “Tell the whole world, and keep nothing back. Raise a signal flag to tell everyone that Babylon will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.
- Jeremiah 51:44And I will punish Bel, the god of Babylon, and make him vomit up all he has eaten. The nations will no longer come and worship him. The wall of Babylon has fallen!
- Isaiah 2:20On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,
- Jeremiah 10:5Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you 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
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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