Isaiah 46
1 Bowed down hath Bel, stooping is Nebo, Their idols have been for the beast and for cattle, Your burdens are loaded, a burden to the weary.
[It is as though] Bel and Nebo, the statues of the gods [of Babylonia], are bowing down as those statues are put on animals and carried away! The statues are heavy burdens and will cause the animals to become tired [SAR]!
2 They have stooped, they have bowed together, They have not been able to deliver the burden, And themselves into captivity have gone.
[It seems like] both gods are bowing down; not only can they not save themselves, but they themselves are being (exiled/taken to another country)!
3 Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of Israel, Who are borne from the belly, Who are carried from the womb,
[Yahweh says], “You descendants of Jacob who were exiled, [I am not like the gods of Babylonia that must be carried]; [instead, it is as though] I have carried you since you first became a nation [MET]. I carried you [even] before you became a nation.
4 Even to old age I [am] He, and to grey hairs I carry, I made, and I bear, yea, I carry and deliver.
I will be your God, and I will carry you for many years, until [it is as though] [MET] your nation is an old man with gray hair. I caused [you to become a nation], and I will sustain you and rescue you.
5 To whom do ye liken Me, and make equal? And compare Me, that we may be like?
There is certainly [RHQ] no one to whom I can be compared. There is [RHQ] no one who is equal to me [DOU].
6 — They are pouring out gold from a bag, And silver on the beam they weigh, They hire a refiner, and he maketh it a god, They fall down, yea, they bow themselves.
[So it is stupid/ridiculous that] some people pour out gold and silver from their bags and weigh it on a scale. [Then] they hire a man who makes things from gold to make an idol from it. [After he makes an idol], they bow down and worship it!
7 They lift him up on the shoulder, They carry him, and cause him to rest in his place, And he standeth, from his place he moveth not, Yea, one crieth unto him, and he answereth not, From his adversity he saveth him not.
They lift it up and carry it on their shoulders. They put it in a [special] place, and it stays there. It cannot move! And when someone prays to it, it does not answer. So [obviously] it cannot rescue anyone from his troubles!
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men, Turn [it] back, O transgressors, to the heart.
[You people of Judah], do not forget this; keep thinking about it, you sinful people!
9 Remember former things of old, For I [am] Mighty, and there is none else, God — and there is none like Me.
Think about the things [that I did] long ago. Only I am God; I am God, and there is no one like me.
10 Declaring from the beginning the latter end, And from of old that which hath not been done, Saying, 'My counsel doth stand, And all My delight I do.'
Only I can tell what will happen in the future before it occurs; I tell it long before it happens. I will accomplish everything that I plan to accomplish, and I will do everything that I want to do.
11 Calling from the east a ravenous bird, From a far land the man of My counsel, Yea, I have spoken, yea, I bring it in, I have formed [it], yea, I do it.
So I will summon [someone to come] from the east [like a swift and powerful] eagle; he will come from a distant country. He will accomplish what I want him to. [He is the one who] will do what I have said that I want him to do, what I have planned.
12 Hearken unto Me, ye mighty in heart, Who are far from righteousness.
You stubborn people [of Israel], [you think that] it will be a long time before you are allowed to return to your own country.
13 I have brought near My righteousness, It is not far off, And My salvation — it doth not tarry, And I have given in Zion salvation, To Israel My glory!
But I will rescue you, and it will not be a long time [before that happens]. I will do it soon. I will rescue Jerusalem and show to you Israeli [people] that I am glorious.”
