King James Version
Isaiah 46
13 verses with commentary
The Lord Carries Israel
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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KJV Study Commentary
Bel (Marduk) and Nebo (Nabu), Babylon's chief deities, are depicted as burdensome cargo loaded on weary beasts, contrasting with Yahweh who carries His people (v. 3-4). This reversal exposes idolatry's fundamental irrationality - worshipers must bear their gods rather than being borne by them. The gods 'stoop' and 'bow down' in defeat, foreshadowing Babylon's fall and anticipating Philippians 2:10...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XLVI.
(1) **Bel boweth down, Nebo Stoopeth.**—Bel or Belus (“Lord “), is perhaps identical with Marduk or Merôdach, but see Note on Jeremiah 1:2. Nabu (“ the Revealer”) was a kind of Assyrian Hermes. Isaiah sees the idols carried off as spoil, at the command of Cyrus, a heavy burden for the beasts that drag them. An inscription recently deciphered by Sir H. Rawlinson (*Journal of Asiatic Society, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. even determined--**"A consumption, and whatever is determined," or decreed [Maurer].
**midst--**Zion, the central point of the earth as to Jehovah's presence.
**land--**Israel. But the Septuagint, "in the whole habitable world." So English Version (Ro 9:28), "upon the earth."
They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. themselves: Heb. their soul
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden.</strong> Isaiah employs devastating irony to expose idolatry's futility. The verbs <em>qara'</em> (stoop) and <em>shachach</em> (bow down) typically describe worshipers before deities, yet here describe the gods themselves collapsing under their own weight. The idols Bel and Nebo (v. 1), Babylon's chief deities, require...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **They could not deliver the burden.**—The deities are, for the moment, distinguished from their images. They are powerless to rescue them. So far as they have a soul or being at all, that very being is carried away captive.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. Therefore--**Return to the main proposition, Assyria's ultimate punishment, though employed as God's "rod" to chastise Judea for a time.
**O my people--**God's tenderness towards His elect nation.
**after the manner of Egypt--**as Egypt and Pharaoh oppressed thee. Implying, too, as Israel was nevertheless delivered from them, so now it would be from the Assyrian Sennacherib. The antithes...
Read full commentary →Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
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KJV Study Commentary
The imagery of God carrying His people 'from the belly' and 'from the womb' emphasizes His covenant faithfulness from election through glorification. The Hebrew suggests both creation and sustenance, establishing God as sovereign originator and faithful sustainer. This refutes Pelagian self-sufficiency and establishes unconditional election - we don't choose God then maintain ourselves; He initiat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Hearken unto me.**—The prophet’s choice of words is singularly emphatic. The false gods are borne away as a burden. The true God bears, *i.e., *supports, His people. He is able to bear that burden. Every “I” is emphasised in the Hebrew.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. For--**Be not afraid (Is 10:24), for, &c.
**indignation ... cease--**The punishments of God against Israel shall be consummated and ended (Is 26:20; Da 11:36). "Till the indignation be accomplished," &c.
**mine anger--**shall turn to their (the Assyrians') destruction.
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
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KJV Study Commentary
The promise 'even to your old age I am he' and 'even to hoar hairs will I carry you' extends God's faithfulness across the entire lifespan, refuting fears of abandonment in weakness. The emphatic 'I have made, and I will bear' establishes divine responsibility for His creation. This anticipates the New Covenant's 'I will' promises (Jeremiah 31:33) and eternal security theology.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Even to your old age.**—The care of a mother ceases, in the natural course of things, before a man grows old, but the fatherly, we might almost say the *mother-like, *maternal care of Jehovah for His chosen ones endures even to the end of life.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. slaughter of--**"stroke upon."
**Midian--**(Is 9:4; Jud 7:25).
**as his rod was upon the sea--**rather, understanding "stroke" from the previous clause, "according to the stroke of His rod upon the Red Sea" (Ex 14:16, 26). His "rod" on the Assyrian (Is 10:24, 26) stands in bold contrast to the Assyrian used as a "rod" to strike others (Is 10:5).
**after the manner of Egypt--**as He lif...
Read full commentary →To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
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KJV Study Commentary
The rhetorical question 'To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal?' asserts God's incomparability, establishing the foundation for worship and faith. The verb 'liken' (damah) implies not just comparison but attempted equation, which is the essence of idolatry - reducing God to manageable categories. This anticipates Paul's worship in Romans 11:33-36 before God's unsearchable ways.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **To whom will ye liken me?**—The argument against idolatry is renewed in nearly its old form (Isaiah 40:18-25; Isaiah 44:9-17). The fate of Bel and Nebo is urged against those who thought that they might worship Jehovah as those deities had been worshipped. Such had been the sin of the calves at Bethel and at Dan. Like it had been the act of Israel when it had carried the ark into battle agai...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. his burden--**the Assyrians' oppression (Is 9:3). Judah was still tributary to Assyria; Hezekiah had not yet revolted, as he did in the beginning of Sennacherib's reign.
**because of--**(Ho 10:15).
**the anointing--**namely, "Messiah" (Da 9:24). Just as in Is 9:4-6, the "breaking of the yoke of" the enemies' "burden and staff" is attributed to Messiah, "For unto us a child is born," &...
Read full commentary →They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
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KJV Study Commentary
The absurdity of lavishing gold on a craftsman to 'make it a god' then falling down to worship it exposes sin's irrational madness. The progression (lavish, hire, make, fall down) shows how human effort creates idols that then enslave their creators. This economic critique of idolatry reveals that all false worship involves exchanging true riches (God) for costly counterfeits.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28-32. Onward gradual march of Sennacherib's army towards Jerusalem, and the panic of the inhabitants vividly pictured before the eyes.
**come to--**come upon as a sudden invader (Ge 34:27).
**Aiath--**same as Ai (Jos 7:2; Ne 7:32). In the north of Benjamin; so the other towns also; all on the line of march to Jerusalem.
**Michmash--**nine miles northeast of Jerusalem.
**laid up ... carria...
Read full commentary →They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth.</strong> Isaiah's extended satire on idol-making reaches climax here. The worshiper must physically transport, position, and stabilize the deity - a relationship of total dependence reversed from proper worship. The phrase "from his place shall he not remove" highlights immobility; gods requiring fi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28-32. Onward gradual march of Sennacherib's army towards Jerusalem, and the panic of the inhabitants vividly pictured before the eyes.
**come to--**come upon as a sudden invader (Ge 34:27).
**Aiath--**same as Ai (Jos 7:2; Ne 7:32). In the north of Benjamin; so the other towns also; all on the line of march to Jerusalem.
**Michmash--**nine miles northeast of Jerusalem.
**laid up ... carria...
Read full commentary →Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.</strong> This powerful call to remembrance appears in the context of God's polemic against idolatry, demanding that His people demonstrate spiritual maturity by learning from their history and acknowledging their covenant relationship with the one true God. The Hebrew verb <em>zakar</em> (זָכַר, "remember")...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Shew yourselves men.**—As elsewhere, the prophet’s challenge is couched in the language of irony. The worshippers of idols should at least have the courage of their convictions. A conjectural emendation gives the opposite meaning, *Be ye deeply ashamed.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28-32. Onward gradual march of Sennacherib's army towards Jerusalem, and the panic of the inhabitants vividly pictured before the eyes.
**come to--**come upon as a sudden invader (Ge 34:27).
**Aiath--**same as Ai (Jos 7:2; Ne 7:32). In the north of Benjamin; so the other towns also; all on the line of march to Jerusalem.
**Michmash--**nine miles northeast of Jerusalem.
**laid up ... carria...
Read full commentary →Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
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KJV Study Commentary
The command 'remember the former things of old' calls Israel to rehearse redemptive history (Exodus, wilderness, conquest) as basis for future hope. The declaration 'I am God, and there is none else' emphasizes absolute monotheism and covenant exclusivity. Remembering God's past faithfulness is not nostalgia but theological foundation for present faith and future hope (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) I **am God.**—The first predicate is *El, *the mighty and strong one, the second *Elohim, *the one true object of worship. The verse that follows asserts what in modern language would be called the omniscience and the omnipotence of God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28-32. Onward gradual march of Sennacherib's army towards Jerusalem, and the panic of the inhabitants vividly pictured before the eyes.
**come to--**come upon as a sudden invader (Ge 34:27).
**Aiath--**same as Ai (Jos 7:2; Ne 7:32). In the north of Benjamin; so the other towns also; all on the line of march to Jerusalem.
**Michmash--**nine miles northeast of Jerusalem.
**laid up ... carria...
Read full commentary →Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
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KJV Study Commentary
God's ability to declare 'the end from the beginning' demonstrates His absolute sovereignty over history, not as fatalistic determinism but as purposeful providence. The phrase 'My counsel shall stand' (Hebrew: ya'qum) means established, fulfilled, accomplished - God's decreed will cannot be thwarted. This foundational to Reformed theology's confidence in divine election, effectual calling, and ce...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28-32. Onward gradual march of Sennacherib's army towards Jerusalem, and the panic of the inhabitants vividly pictured before the eyes.
**come to--**come upon as a sudden invader (Ge 34:27).
**Aiath--**same as Ai (Jos 7:2; Ne 7:32). In the north of Benjamin; so the other towns also; all on the line of march to Jerusalem.
**Michmash--**nine miles northeast of Jerusalem.
**laid up ... carria...
Read full commentary →Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. that: Heb. of my counsel
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KJV Study Commentary
Cyrus is called a 'ravenous bird' (bird of prey) from the east, imagery suggesting swift, decisive conquest. The declaration 'I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass' parallels God's creative word in Genesis - His speech accomplishes reality. The phrase 'I have purposed it, I will also do it' establishes divine immutability; God's purposes cannot be altered by human resistance.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Calling a ravenous bird.**—Cyrus is thus described as Nebuchadnezzar is in Jeremiah 49:22; Ezekiel 17:3. The image derives a special significance from the fact that the standard borne by Cyrus and his successors was a golden eagle (Xen., *Cyrop. vii.* 1. 4; *Anab. i.* 10, 12). (Comp. also Matthew 24:28; Luke 17:37.) The “sun-rising” is, of course, Persia; the *“*far country” probably repres...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33. bough--**literally, the "beauty" of the tree; "the beautiful branch."
**high ones of stature--**"the upright stem," as distinguished from the previous "boughs" [Horsley].
Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted , that are far from righteousness:
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KJV Study Commentary
The address to 'stouthearted' (Hebrew: abir leb, mighty/stubborn of heart) describes proud rebels 'far from righteousness' who resist God's deliverance. The irony is that God's offer of near salvation (v. 13) is rejected by those who think themselves righteous. This foreshadows Pharisees rejecting Christ - those far from righteousness don't recognize their distance.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Ye stouthearted.**—The word, like analogous terms in Ezekiel 2:4; Ezekiel 3:7, implies at once obduracy and ignorance. Such as these are self-excluded at once from the “righteousness” and the “salvation” of Jehovah, which ultimately imply, and coincide with each other. Their unfaithfulness, however, does not hinder the faithfulness of God. He brings near His salvation to all who are ready t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
34. This verse and Is 10:33 describe the sudden arrest and overthrow of Sennacherib in the height of his success; Is 10:18, 19; Eze 31:3, 14, &c., contain the same image; "Lebanon" and its forest are the Assyrian army; the "iron" axe that fells the forest refers to the stroke which destroyed the one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians (2Ki 19:35). The "Mighty One" is Jehovah (Is 10:21; ...
Read full commentary →I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
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KJV Study Commentary
The declaration 'I bring near my righteousness' reveals that salvation comes by God's approaching initiative, not human ascent. The parallel 'my salvation shall not tarry' assures that God's timing, though mysterious, is never truly delayed. The promise to 'place salvation in Zion' ultimately points to Christ as God's righteousness given to believers (1 Corinthians 1:30).