The Meaning of Isaiah 46:1 Explained

Isaiah 46:1

KJV: 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.

YLT: Bowed down hath Bel, stooping is Nebo, Their idols have been for the beast and for cattle, Your burdens are loaded, a burden to the weary.

Darby: Bel is bowed down, Nebo bendeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things ye carried are laid on, a burden to the weary beast.

ASV: Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary beast .

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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]. 

What does Isaiah 46:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 46:1-13 - God's Salvation Shall Not Tarry
Here is a startling contrast! Babylon is broken up. An invading army of stern monotheists have slain the idolatrous priests at their altars and are engaged in carrying out the idols for the bonfire. And as the Jewish remnant is witnessing the extraordinary spectacle, they are reminded that their God does not require to be borne. Nay, on the contrary He has borne His people from the earliest days and will continue to bear them till the heavens have passed away.
The contrast is a perpetual one. Some people carry their religion; others are carried by it. Some are burdened by minute prescriptions and an external ritual; others yield themselves to God, to be borne by Him in old age as they were in the helplessness of childhood. They are persuaded that He will bear them "as a man doth bear His son," in all the way that they go, until they come to the prepared place. See Deuteronomy 1:31; Isaiah 63:9. God immediately responds to a trust like that, and His salvation does not tarry. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 46

1  The idols of Babylon could not save themselves
3  God saves his people to the end
5  Idols are not comparable to God for power
12  Or present salvation

What do the individual words in Isaiah 46:1 mean?

Bows down Bel stoops Nebo were their idols on the beasts and on the cattle Your carriages [were] heavily loaded a burden to the weary [beast]
כָּרַ֥ע בֵּל֙ קֹרֵ֣ס נְב֔וֹ הָיוּ֙ עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֔ם לַחַיָּ֖ה וְלַבְּהֵמָ֑ה נְשֻׂאֹתֵיכֶ֣ם עֲמוּס֔וֹת מַשָּׂ֖א לַעֲיֵפָֽה

כָּרַ֥ע  Bows  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַע  
Sense: to bend, kneel, bow, bow down, sink down to one’s knees, kneel down to rest (of animals), kneel in reverence.
בֵּל֙  Bel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֵּל  
Sense: a chief Babylonian deity.
קֹרֵ֣ס  stoops 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָרַס  
Sense: (Qal) to bend down, stoop, crouch.
נְב֔וֹ  Nebo 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְבֹו 
Sense: a Babylonian deity who presided over learning and letters; corresponds to Greek Hermes, Latin Mercury, and Egyptian Thoth.
עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֔ם  their  idols 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עָצָב  
Sense: idol, image.
לַחַיָּ֖ה  on  the  beasts 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וְלַבְּהֵמָ֑ה  and  on  the  cattle 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
נְשֻׂאֹתֵיכֶ֣ם  Your  carriages 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: נְשׂוּאָה  
Sense: what is borne or carried about, load.
עֲמוּס֔וֹת  [were]  heavily  loaded 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine plural
Root: עָמַס  
Sense: to load, carry, carry a load.
מַשָּׂ֖א  a  burden 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַשָּׂא 
Sense: load, bearing, tribute, burden, lifting.
לַעֲיֵפָֽה  to  the  weary  [beast] 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: עָיֵף  
Sense: faint, exhausted, weary.