Bible/Isaiah/46

Isaiah 46:1

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.

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Bel bows down. Nebo stoops. Their idols are carried by animals, and on the livestock. The things that you carried around are heavy loads, a burden for the weary.

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.

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, their idols were on the beasts, and on the cattle: your carriages were heavy laden; they are a burden to the weary beast.

46:2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. themselves: Heb. their soul

What does Isaiah 46:1 mean?

Isaiah 46:1 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include בֵּל (Bêl), כָּרַע (kâraʻ), נְבוֹ (Nᵉbôw). It connects to 13 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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BelבֵּלBêl/bale/H1078Bel, the Baal of the Babylonians
boweth
down,כָּרַעkâraʻ/kaw-rah'/H3766to bend the knee; by implication, to sink, to prostrate
NeboנְבוֹNᵉbôw/neb-o'/H5015Nebo, the name of a Babylonian deity, also of a mountain in Moab, and of a place in Palestine
stoopeth,קָרַסqâraç/kaw-ras'/H7164to hunch, i.e. be hump-backed
their
idolsעָצָבʻâtsâb/aw-tsawb'/H6091an (idolatrous) image
were
upon
the
beasts,חַיchay/khah'-ee/H2416alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively
and
upon
the
cattle:בְּהֵמָהbᵉhêmâh/be-hay-maw'/H929properly, a dumb beast; especially any large quadruped or animal (often collective)
your
carriagesנְשׂוּאָהnᵉsûwʼâh/nes-oo-aw'/H5385something borne, i.e. a load
were
heavy
loaden;עָמַסʻâmaç/aw-mas'/H6006to load, i.e. impose aburden (or figuratively, infliction)
they
are
a
burdenמַשָּׂאmassâʼ/mas-saw'/H4853a burden; specifically, tribute, or (abstractly) porterage; figuratively, an utterance, chiefly adoom, especially singing; mental, desire
to
the
wearyעָיֵףʻâyêph/aw-yafe'/H5889languid
beast.

Commentary on Isaiah 46:1

HENRY_FULL · Isaiah 46:1
ns are here spoken of that are ruining their own estates, and will be beggars shortly, and therefore are not to be trusted with any good security:—1. Those that will be bound for any body that will ask them, that entangle themselves in rash suretiship to oblige their idle companions; they will break at last, nay, they cannot hold out long; these waste by wholesale. 2. Those that are in league with abandoned women, that treat them, and court them, and keep company with them. They will be beggars in a little time; never give them credit without good pledge. Strange women have strange ways of impoverishing men to enrich themselves. 17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. Note, 1. Sin may possibly

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Judges 1:1

Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

Judges 1:2

And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

Judges 9:29

And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

Judges 20:7

Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.

Judges 20:18

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

Judges 20:23

(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)

Judges 20:26

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

2 Samuel 2:26

Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

2 Samuel 2:27

And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. in the: Heb. from the morning gone: or, gone away

2 Chronicles 25:17

Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.

Isaiah 24:6

Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Isaiah 25:8

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Luke 14:31

Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Topics

IdolatryNebo

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 46:1.

Genesis 1:24

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Genesis 1:25

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 2:20

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. gave: Heb. called

Genesis 3:14

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Genesis 7:14

They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. sort: Heb. wing

Genesis 7:21

And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

Genesis 8:1

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

Genesis 8:17

Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 46:1 say?

Isaiah 46:1 (King James Version) reads: "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."

Is Isaiah 46:1 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 46:1 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

Reflect

As you read Isaiah 46:1, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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