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The Lord Carries His People

46 Bel[a] kneels down,
Nebo[b] bends low.
Their images weigh down animals and beasts.[c]
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.[d]
Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images;[e]
they themselves[f] head off into captivity.[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 46:1 sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.
  2. Isaiah 46:1 sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.
  3. Isaiah 46:1 tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”
  4. Isaiah 46:1 tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”
  5. Isaiah 46:2 tn Heb “[the] burden,” i.e., their images, the heavy burden carried by the animals.
  6. Isaiah 46:2 tn Heb “Their soul/life has gone into captivity.
  7. Isaiah 46:2 sn The downfall of Babylon is depicted here. The idols are carried off by the victorious enemy; the gods are likened to defeated captives who cower before the enemy and are taken into exile.