イザヤ書 46:1-4 JCB

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-4

Men bearing gods, and God bearing his people. The pitiable and even ludicrous insufficiency of idolatry is admirably drawn in this picture. We see the beasts bowed down with the images of the helpless deities of Chaldea In what striking and glowing contrast does the relation of Jehovah to his people appear! From the very infancy of Israel God had borne them in the arms of his faithfulness and power; and his tender kindness in the past would extend to the furthest future. Even to old age he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-11

The effect of God's temporal judgments upon nations on the religious history of the world. In the ancient world, where religions had no revealed or historic basis, but had been evolved by degrees from the thought or imagination of each people, the fate of a religion depended greatly upon the course of secular history, and the success or failure that attended upon the arms of the nation professing it. As no people could have a rational, or, consequently, a firm belief in a system based upon... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-13

The religion of Jehovah contrasted with idolatry. I. THE HUMILIATION OF BEL AND NEBO . These were the tutelar gods of Babylon and its suburb, Borsippa. Merodach, or Marduk ( Jeremiah 50:2 ), is another name of a being closely related to or identical with Bel. The idols of the Chaldeans are given up to the beasts, and the images once carried in solemn procession by the priests and nobles are put upon the backs of beasts of burden. Herodotus and Diodorus tell us of the golden... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:2

They stoop, they bow down together ; i.e. all the Babylonian gods would suffer equally—not one would be able to protect himself. They could not deliver the burden. A distinction is here made between the god and the idol, which have hitherto been identified. The god was, in each case, unable to deliver, or save from capture, the heavy "burden" of gold, or silver, or bronze ( i.e. his own image) which was carried off on the back of the "weary beast." On the contrary, the gods... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:3

All the remnant of the house of Israel . The address is not to those who had remained faithful of the ten tribes (as Delitzsch supposes), but to the captives of Babylon, designated in these later chapters indifferently as "Jacob" or "Israel" ( Isaiah 40:27 ; Isaiah 41:8 , Isaiah 41:14 ; Isaiah 42:24 ; Isaiah 43:1 , Isaiah 43:28 ; Isaiah 44:1 , Isaiah 44:21 , Isaiah 44:23 ; Isaiah 45:4 , etc.), never as "Judah," and constantly mentioned as a "remnant"—all that was left of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:3-8

AN ADMONITION TO ISRAEL . Israel should learn from the fate of the Babylonian idols to trust in Jehovah, who can and will deliver them, rather than in gods of gold and silver, which can give no aid, either to themselves or others. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

Even to your old age I am he; even to hoar hairs , etc. The nurse—even the mother—soon grows tired of carrying the child, and leaves him to shift for himself. But God's tender care for his people lasts from their infancy, through their boyhood and manhood, to their old age. The everlasting arms never weary. God's watchfulness, his providence, his protection, never fail. I have made, and I will bear . The maker of a thing has naturally regard to what he has made, loves it, desires its good,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

God's care for the aged. "And even to your old age I am he," etc. What a contrast between God and man! Concerning how many may it be said that they are forgotten in old age! Sometimes even children are faithless to their parents, and age has died in a workhouse, when children have been well-to-do. But change comes, too, in other relationships. The world does not want us when we are worn out. Its sweet songs can charm no more. The cunning of the worker's hand fails. The preacher faints. A new... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

Grace for a long life. "Even to boar hairs will I carry you." Reference is made more especially to the prolonged life and varied experience of the nation; but the promise and assurance are equally applicable to the individual—they exactly match other assurances which are addressed to individuals. And Israel may always be regarded as the type of the godly man. For us all life is full of changes, surprises, and calamities. We have nothing absolutely stable and unchangeable, nothing always... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 46:1

Bel boweth down - Bel or Belus (בל bēl, from בעל be‛ēl, the same as בעל ba‛al was the chief domestic god of the Babylonians, and was worshipped in the celebrated tower of Babylon (compare Jeremiah 50:2; Jeremiah 51:44). It was usual to compound names of the titles of the divinities that were worshipped, and hence, we often meet with this name, as in Bel-shazzar, Bel-teshazzar, Baal-Peor, Baal-zebub, Baal-Gad, Baal-Berith. The Greek and Roman writers compare Bel with Jupiter, and the common... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:3-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 46:1

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