The Meaning of Isaiah 46:6 Explained

Isaiah 46:6

KJV: 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.

YLT: -- They are pouring out gold from a bag, And silver on the beam they weigh, They hire a refiner, and he maketh it a god, They fall down, yea, they bow themselves.

Darby: They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance; they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

ASV: Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 46:6 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 46:6 mean?

they lavish gold out of the bag and silver on the scales weigh they hire a goldsmith and he makes it a god they prostrate themselves yes they worship
הַזָּלִ֤ים זָהָב֙ מִכִּ֔יס וְכֶ֖סֶף בַּקָּנֶ֣ה יִשְׁקֹ֑לוּ יִשְׂכְּר֤וּ צוֹרֵף֙ וְיַעֲשֵׂ֣הוּ אֵ֔ל יִסְגְּד֖וּ אַף־ יִֽשְׁתַּחֲוּֽוּ‪‬

הַזָּלִ֤ים  they  lavish 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: זוּל  
Sense: (Qal) to pour out, lavish.
זָהָב֙  gold 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זָהָב  
Sense: gold.
מִכִּ֔יס  out  of  the  bag 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כִּיס  
Sense: bag, purse.
וְכֶ֖סֶף  and  silver 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֶּסֶף  
Sense: silver, money.
בַּקָּנֶ֣ה  on  the  scales 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָנֶה  
Sense: reed, stalk, bone, balances.
יִשְׁקֹ֑לוּ  weigh 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁקַל  
Sense: to weigh, weigh out, pay out.
יִשְׂכְּר֤וּ  they  hire 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָכַר  
Sense: to hire.
צוֹרֵף֙  a  goldsmith 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: צָרַף  
Sense: to smelt, refine, test.
וְיַעֲשֵׂ֣הוּ  and  he  makes  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
אֵ֔ל  a  god 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
יִסְגְּד֖וּ  they  prostrate  themselves 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָגַד  
Sense: (Qal) to prostrate oneself (in worship).
אַף־  yes 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אַף  
Sense: also, yea, though, so much the more adv.
יִֽשְׁתַּחֲוּֽוּ‪‬  they  worship 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.