Isaiah 46 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Babylon’s False Gods

Isa 46:1Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon,
bow as they are lowered to the ground.
They are being hauled away on ox carts.
The poor beasts stagger under the weight.

Isa 46:2

Isa 46:2Both the idols and their owners are bowed down.
The gods cannot protect the people,
and the people cannot protect the gods.
They go off into captivity together.

Isa 46:3

Isa 46:3“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.

Isa 46:4

Isa 46:4I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.

Isa 46:5

Isa 46:5“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?

Isa 46:6

Isa 46:6Some people pour out their silver and gold
and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
Then they bow down and worship it!

Isa 46:7

Isa 46:7They carry it around on their shoulders,
and when they set it down, it stays there.
It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Isa 46:8

Isa 46:8“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones.

Isa 46:9

Isa 46:9Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.

Isa 46:10

Isa 46:10Only I can tell you the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
for I do whatever I wish.

Isa 46:11

Isa 46:11I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
and I will do it.

Isa 46:12

Isa 46:12“Listen to me, you stubborn people
who are so far from doing right.

Isa 46:13

Isa 46:13For I am ready to set things right,
not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem[fn]
and show my glory to Israel.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(46:13)

Hebrew Zion.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.