Isaiah 46:1
in Isaiah 46Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 46
Commentary
16 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 Jer 50:2; Jer 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 name which they give to this idol is Jupiter Belus (Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxxvii. 10; Cic. De Nat.
This site's exposition
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers
on Isaiah 46:1-4
Babylon’s gods, Bel and Nebo, appear as cargo, “Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle”, and verse 2 says the gods themselves “go into captivity”. In verse 4 the LORD turns the verb around, “I have made you, and I will carry you”. This contrast runs through the chapter.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The prophecy has described those things concerning the conversion of the nations and those concerning the elect of the seed of the sons of Israel, and it now turns once more to address the Jews and intends the complete destruction of idolatry … (following Symmachus, "their idols have become the prey of animals," that is, cast aside into total destitution). According to the literal sense, this has been fulfilled among us by these very deeds, while according to a spiritual understanding it concerns the heavy and burdensome and diabolic load of deceitful idolatry that used to lie on the souls of people.
Having discussed the Deity, displayed the believers and confounded the unbelievers, the prophetic text also predicts the destruction of the idols. Some copies carry "Dagon." That was an idol of the Allophyles [foreigners]. As for Bel, some claim that he was Kronos. Then [Isaiah] generalizes: …
But Bel was also honored in other cities. For they say that Bel was the mythical figure Chronos among the godless Greeks, one who was reputedly cruel and bloodthirsty and loved to slaughter humans … whereas the God of the universe is not pleased with such terrible impieties and through one of the holy prophets he said to those who were accustomed to doing this, "You sacrifice humans, for you have run out of cattle." … The expression "cast down" is apt, since the prophet here speaks of a time near to his own. For we can read in the books of the Kings that when the former people carried the divine ark to the temple of Dagon, as those worshiping the idol went in, they saw Dagon fallen down in front of the ark.
These idols, he says, which cannot save those who carry them, are nothing more than burdens for the priests, weighing them down to exhaustion. And when captivity comes, as payment for the metals from which they are made, the first captive is taken, and they cannot free their own soul or those who carry them. Not that the lifeless images have a soul and some sense of pain, which are devoid of sensation; but that the soul is erroneously called soul, and the limbs of those things which are without sensation and limbs.
(Chapter 46, Verses 1, 2.) Bel is broken, Nabo is crushed. Their idols have become beasts and livestock, burdening you with heavy loads until exhaustion. They have melted together and crumbled. They could not save those who carried them, and their souls will go into captivity. Seventy: Bel has fallen, Dagon is crushed. Their statues have become beasts and livestock, bound together as a burden for the laboring, the weak, and the hungry, unable to prevail together. They could not save from war. However, they themselves were led away as captives. After the calling of the Gentiles and the election of the believers from Israel, it is testified that the idols have fallen. Bel has fallen, indeed, he has fallen, or Saturn has been broken: whom the Greeks call Belus and the Latins call Saturn. So great was the reverence for him among the ancients that they not only offered him the human sacrifices of captive and lowly mortals, but also sacrificed their own children to him. But now even that idol itself, which is interpreted as prophecy and divination, signifies that it has fallen silent throughout the whole world after the truth of the Gospel. Or, according to the Septuagint, Dagon, which, however, is not found in Hebrew. And it is the idol of Ashkelon, Gaza, and the other cities of the Philistines. And from a specific case it passes to a general one: their images were made in the form of beasts and animals. Not that the images of the Gentiles were exposed as prey to beasts and animals, but that the religion of the nations is such that the images are of beasts and brute animals, which are especially consecrated to divine worship in Egypt. […]
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Here he foretells the destruction of the enemies holding them captive, namely, the Babylonians, as to two things in which they gloried: first, as to the destruction of their idols; second, as to the ending of their kingdom, below: come down, sit in the dust …
"Bel" and "Nebo" are Babylonian idols. Bel is the statue that Nebuchadnezzar erected in the plain of Dura; its name derives from "Babel." Nebo was the teacher of the school for children in Mabbugh; since he was extremely stern toward the children, one of them, …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Bel - The chief idol of the Babylonians, called by profane historians Jupiter Belus. Boweth - As the Babylonians used to bow down to him to worship, so now he bows down to the victorious Persians.
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth,.... These are names of the idols of Babylon. Bel is by some thought to be the contraction of Baal, the god of the Phoenicians, called by them Beel; so "Beelsamin" (h), in the Phoenician language, is Lord of heaven: but rather this is the Belus of the Babylonians, who was a renowned king of them, and after his death deified; whom Nebuchadnezzar, according to Megasthenes (i), calls Belus his progenitor, and by whom Babylon was walled about.
The carriers' horses, or mules, are laden with them and their other idols, to be sent among other lumber (for so it seems they accounted them rather than treasure) into Persia. So far are they from being able to support their worshippers that they are themselves a heavy load in the wagons, and a burden to the weary beast.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
THE confidence of Babylon is buried among her heaps of rubbish for her gods have fallen from their thrones. "Bel bows down, Nebo stoops." As for us, Beloved, our trust is in the living God who lives to bear and carry His chosen, even in Jehovah, the only true Lord. We begin our spiritual life by faith in Him, for till faith comes we have no power to become the sons of God. Our spiritual life will have to be continued in the same way of trust in the Lord, "for the just shall live by faith."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The extensive worship of it is shown by the many proper names compounded of it: Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuzar-adan, Nabonassar, &c. were upon--that is, were a burden (supplied from the following clause) upon. It was customary to transport the gods of the vanquished to the land of the conquerors, who thought thereby the more effectually to keep down the subject people (1Sa 5:1, &c.;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
THE confidence of Babylon is buried among her heaps of rubbish for her gods have fallen from their thrones. "Bel bows down, Nebo stoops." As for us, Beloved, our trust is in the living God who lives to bear and carry His chosen, even in Jehovah, the only true Lord. We begin our spiritual life by faith in Him, for till faith comes we have no power to become the sons of God. Our spiritual life will have to be continued in the same way of trust in the Lord, "for the just shall live by faith." We live by faith upon the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. We rejoice that we shall never have to change our confidence, for our God will never be carried into captivity, nor torn from His Throne. Our faith is built upon a rock that can never be moved. Nothing in the past has shaken the foundation of our faith. Nothing in the present can move it. Nothing in the future will undermine it. Whatever may occur in the ages to come, there will always be good reason for believing in Jehovah and His faithful Word. The great Truths which He has revealed will never be disproved. The great promises He has made will never be retracted. The great purposes He has devised will never be abandoned. So long as we live, so long shall we have a refuge, a hope, a confidence, that can never be removed— "His sovereign mercy knows no end, His faithfulness shall still endure; And those who on His Word depend Shall find His Word forever sure." That part of our text which says, "Even to your old age I am He. And even to hoar hairs will I carry you," may seem to be a promise made to old age. So, indeed, it is. Many a hoary saint has made a soft pillow of this precious promise and has rested upon it with delight in the days of his decay. But yet the text, if it is rightly read, is a promise to the people of God at any and every period between their birth and their death.
Their carriages were heavy loaden “Their burdens are heavy” - For נשאתיכם nesuotheychem, your burdens, the Septuagint had in their copy נשאתיהם nesuotheyhem, their burdens.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Bel squats; Nebo soils himself The deities of Babylon squatted and soiled themselves. This is an expression of ridicule of the idols, like one who suffers from diarrhea and does not manage to sit down on the seat in the privy before he discharges with a splash.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Bel is bowed down, Nebo is cut down. Their images are in the likeness of serpents and beasts. The burdens of your idols shall be heavy upon those who carry them; because they be exhausted
they could not deliver the burden to discharge the feces in their bowels as others discharge, in the normal manner.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּרַ֥ע | kara' | he has bowed down | H3766 → | 36 times |
| בֵּל֙ | bel | Bel | H1078 → | |
| קֹרֵ֣ס | kores | [is] stooping low | H7164 → | |
| נְב֔וֹ | nevo | Nebo | H5015 → | |
| הָיוּ֙ | hayu | they belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֔ם | ʾatzabeihem | idols their | H6091 → | |
| לַחַיָּ֖ה | lachaiyah | to the animal[s] | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וְלַבְּהֵמָ֑ה | velabehemah | and to the cattle | H929 → | 190 times |
| נְשֻׂאֹתֵיכֶ֣ם | nesuoteikhem | burdens your | H5385 → | |
| עֲמוּס֔וֹת | amusot | [are] carried | H6006 → | |
| מַשָּׂ֖א | masa' | a load | H4853 → | 66 times |
| לַעֲיֵפָֽה׃ | laayefah | for a weary [animal] | H5889 → | 17 times |
כָּרַ֥עhe has bowed down
kara'H3766 →36 times
בֵּל֙Bel
belH1078 →
קֹרֵ֣ס[is] stooping low
koresH7164 →
נְב֔וֹNebo
nevoH5015 →
הָיוּ֙they belong
hayuH1961 →3559 times
עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֔םidols their
ʾatzabeihemH6091 →
לַחַיָּ֖הto the animal[s]
lachaiyahH2416 →498 times
וְלַבְּהֵמָ֑הand to the cattle
velabehemahH929 →190 times
נְשֻׂאֹתֵיכֶ֣םburdens your
nesuoteikhemH5385 →
עֲמוּס֔וֹת[are] carried
amusotH6006 →
מַשָּׂ֖אa load
masa'H4853 →66 times
לַעֲיֵפָֽה׃for a weary [animal]
laayefahH5889 →17 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 21:9Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:44
I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
- Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- Jeremiah 51:8
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
- Jeremiah 51:44
Through
Jeremiah 50:2“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:47
Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her entire land will suffer shame, and all her slain will lie fallen within her.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 21:9
Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
- Jeremiah 51:47
Through
Jeremiah 51:44I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him spew out what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even the wall of Babylon will fall.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:34
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies…
- Jeremiah 51:58
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will…
- Jeremiah 51:34
Where this verse is studied
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About Isaiah
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2056: “Idols Found Wanting, But Jehovah Found Faithful” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 4:3.46:1; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:30; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 46:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 14:46.1 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.