Isaiah 46:7 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 46:5-13

The deliverance of Israel by the destruction of Babylon (the general subject of all these chapters) is here insisted upon, and again promised, for the conviction both of idolaters who set up as rivals with God, and of oppressors who were enemies to the people of God. I. For the conviction of those who made and worshipped idols, especially those of Israel who did so, who would have images of their God, as the Babylonians had of theirs, 1. He challenges them either to frame an image that should... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 46:7

They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him ,.... That is, the idol; men carry him upon their shoulders in procession, and expose him to the view and veneration of the people, just as the host is carried in procession by the Papists; or the idol being made, the workman or his men lift it up, for it cannot lift up itself, and take it upon their shoulders, and carry it home to the proprietor: and set him in his place ; in his house, if an household god: or in the temple, church, or... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 46:7

They bear him upon the shoulder - and set him in his place - This is the way in which the Hindoos carry their gods; and indeed so exact a picture is this of the idolatrous procession of this people, that the prophet might almost be supposed to have been sitting among the Hindoos when he delivered this prophecy. - Ward'S Customs. Pindar has treated with a just and very elegant ridicule the work of the statuary even in comparison with his own poetry, from this circumstance of its being fixed... 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 46:3-8

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 46:7

They bear him upon the shoulder (see the comment on Isaiah 45:20 ). Here, however, it is not the carrying in procession that is spoken of, but the conveyance of the imago by the workman from his own workshop to the temple where it is to be set up. The carrying of heavy burdens upon the shoulder is mentioned by Herodotus (2.35), and frequently represented on ancient monuments. From his place shall he net remove; i.e. he (the god) will have no power of moving an inch from the spot on which... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 46:7

They bear him upon the shoulder - They carry the idol which they have made on their shoulder to the temple, or place where it is to be fixed. This circumstance, with the others, is doubtless introduced to show how ridiculous and absurd it was to offer divine homage to a god whom they could thus carry about on the shoulder.And set him in his place - Fix the idol on its basis or pedestal, in its proper niche, or place in the temple. The whole design of this verse is to contrast the idol with... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 46:5-8

Isaiah 46:5-8. To whom will you liken me, &c. If you be tempted at any time to exchange me for an idol, do me and yourselves the right seriously to consider, whether you can find another god, who will be more able and more ready to do you good than I have been. They lavish gold &c., and he maketh it a god Let us suppose a god made with the greatest cost and art. They bear him upon the shoulder From that place where he is made, unto that place where they intend to set him up. ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-13

Babylon’s helpless gods (45:20-46:13)Cyrus’s conquest of Babylon will prove to those Babylonians who survive that to trust in idols for victory is useless. Wooden gods could not foresee Cyrus’s conquest, but Yahweh, the only true God, predicted it long ago (20-21). People of surrounding nations may previously have fought against Yahweh by trusting in idols, but now they should forsake those idols and submit to the living God. Then they will find victory, righteousness and strength, and will... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 46:5-13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 46:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 46:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:3-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:7

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 46:7

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 46:5-8

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-13

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