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Isaiah 46
New King James Version
Isaiah 46
New King James Version
Dead Idols and the Living God
46 Bel (A)bows down, Nebo stoops;
Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
(B)A burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
(C)But have themselves gone into captivity.
3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
(D)Who have been upheld by Me from [a]birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
4 Even to your old age, (E)I am He,
And even to gray hairs (F)I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 “To(G) whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6 (H)They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a (I)goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7 (J)They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though (K)one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
8 “Remember this, and [b]show yourselves men;
(L)Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 (M)Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and (N)there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 (O)Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, (P)‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey (Q)from the east,
The man (R)who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed (S)I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
12 “Listen to Me, you (T)stubborn-hearted,
(U)Who are far from righteousness:
13 (V)I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation (W)shall not [c]linger.
And I will place (X)salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:3 Lit. the belly
- Isaiah 46:8 be men, take courage
- Isaiah 46:13 delay
Isaiah 46
New International Version
Isaiah 46
New International Version
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(A) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(B) are borne by beasts of burden.[a]
The images that are carried(C) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(D)
3 “Listen(E) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(F) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(G)
and have carried(H) since you were born.(I)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(J)
I am he,(K) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(L) 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?(M)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(N) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(O)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(P) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(Q)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(R)
it cannot save(S) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(T) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(U)
9 Remember the former things,(V) those of long ago;(W)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(X)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(Y)
from ancient times,(Z) what is still to come.(AA)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(AB)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(AC) a bird of prey;(AD)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(AE) that I will do.(AF)
12 Listen(AG) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(AH)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(AI)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(AJ) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(AK) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(AL)
my splendor(AM) to Israel.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.