The Meaning of Isaiah 46:4 Explained

Isaiah 46:4

KJV: 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.

YLT: Even to old age I am He, and to grey hairs I carry, I made, and I bear, yea, I carry and deliver.

Darby: Even to old age, I am HE, and unto hoary hairs I will carry you: It is I that have made, and I will bear, and I will carry, and will deliver.

ASV: and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you ; I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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]. 

What does Isaiah 46:4 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 46:4 mean?

and Even to [your] old age I [am] He and [even] to gray hairs I will carry [you] I have made and I will bear and Even I will carry and will deliver [you] -
וְעַד־ זִקְנָה֙ אֲנִ֣י ה֔וּא וְעַד־ שֵיבָ֖ה‪‬ אֲנִ֣י אֶסְבֹּ֑ל אֲנִ֤י עָשִׂ֙יתִי֙ וַאֲנִ֣י אֶשָּׂ֔א וַאֲנִ֥י אֶסְבֹּ֖ל וַאֲמַלֵּֽט ס

וְעַד־  and  Even  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
זִקְנָה֙  [your]  old  age 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: זִקְנָה  
Sense: old age.
אֲנִ֣י  I  [am] 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
וְעַד־  and  [even]  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
שֵיבָ֖ה‪‬  gray  hairs 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֵׂיבָה  
Sense: age, gray hair, hoary head, old age.
אֲנִ֣י  I  will 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אֶסְבֹּ֑ל  carry  [you] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: סָבַל  
Sense: to bear, bear a load, drag oneself along.
עָשִׂ֙יתִי֙  have  made 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
וַאֲנִ֣י  and  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אֶשָּׂ֔א  will  bear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
וַאֲנִ֥י  and  Even  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אֶסְבֹּ֖ל  will  carry 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: סָבַל  
Sense: to bear, bear a load, drag oneself along.
וַאֲמַלֵּֽט  and  will  deliver  [you] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation