Isaiah 46:7
in Isaiah 46They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
KJV
They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
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This verse in Isaiah 46
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 Yahweh.
This site's exposition
To whom will you liken Me
on Isaiah 46:5-7
Verse 5 asks, “To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike”, and the answer is the idol workshop. They “pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales”. A god men make and carry stands against the God who makes and carries his people.
This site's exposition
They lift it to their shoulder
Matthew Henry sees two follies in one act. The worshipers raise themselves too high when they claim to make a god, and then sink too low when they bow to a thing. Barnes pictures the idol carried on the shoulder, the burden the LORD reverses in verse 4.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5 and following) To whom have you likened me, and equalized, and compared me, and made me similar? You who pour out gold from the bag, and weigh silver on the scales, hiring a goldsmith to make a god, and they fall down and worship. They carry him on their shoulders, carrying and placing him in his place, and he will stand, and he will not be moved from his place. But when they cry out to him, he will not hear: he will not save them from distress. LXX: To whom do you liken me?
The Medieval Church1 voice
He also shows the worthlessness of the works, namely, the idols themselves, for they can neither be moved or stand by themselves: they bear him: you shall see in Babylon gods of gold, and of silver, and of stone, and of wood borne upon shoulders …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When the goldsmith has made it that which they please to call a god they fall down, yea, they worship it. If they magnified themselves too much in pretending to make a god, as if they would atone for that, they vilified themselves as much in prostrating themselves to a god that they knew the original of.
They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him,....
They weigh silver in the balance, either to be the matter of their idol (for even those that were most sottish had so much sense as to think that God should be served with the best they had, the best they could possibly afford; those that represented him by a calf made it a golden one) or to pay the workmen's wages. The service of sin often proves very expensive.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 to a certain station. “The friends of Pytheas,” says the Scholiast, “came to the poet, desiring him to write an ode on his victory. Pindar demanded three drachms, (minae, I suppose it should be), for the ode. No, say they, we can have a brazen statue for that money, which will be better than a poem. However, changing their minds afterwards, they came and offered him what he had demanded.” This gave him the hint of the following ingenious esordium of his ode: - Ουκ ανδριαντοποιος ειμ’ Ὡστ’ ελινυσσοντα μ’ εργαζε- σθαι αγαλματ’ επ’ αυτας βαθμιδος Ἑσταοτ Αλλ’ επι πασας Ὁλκαδος εν τ’ ακατῳ γλυκει’ αοιδα Στειχ’ απ’ Αιγινας διαγγελ- lois’ ὁτι Λαμπωνος ὑιος Πυθεας ευρυσθενης Νικῃ Νεμειοις παγκρατιου στεφανον. Nem. v. Thus elegantly translated by Mr. Francis in a note to Hor. Carm. 4:2. […]
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִ֠שָּׂאֻהוּ | yisauhu | they lift up it | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּתֵ֨ף | katef | a shoulder | H3802 → | 67 times |
| יִסְבְּלֻ֜הוּ | yisbeluhu | they carry it | H5445 → | 9 times |
| וְיַנִּיחֻ֤הוּ | veyanichuhu | and they set down it | H5117 → | 142 times |
| תַחְתָּיו֙ | tachtav | in place its | H8478 → | 505 times |
| וְיַֽעֲמֹ֔ד | veyaamod | so it may stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| מִמְּקוֹמ֖וֹ | mimekomo | from place its | H4725 → | 401 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמִ֑ישׁ | yamish | it departs | H4185 → | 20 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| יִצְעַ֤ק | yitzak | he cries out | H6817 → | 55 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to it | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲנֶ֔ה | yaaneh | it answers | H6030 → | 331 times |
| מִצָּרָת֖וֹ | mitzarato | from trouble his | H6869 → | 73 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוֹשִׁיעֶֽנּוּ׃ ס | yoshienu | it delivers him | H3467 → | 206 times |
יִ֠שָּׂאֻהוּthey lift up it
yisauhuH5375 →656 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּתֵ֨ףa shoulder
katefH3802 →67 times
יִסְבְּלֻ֜הוּthey carry it
yisbeluhuH5445 →9 times
וְיַנִּיחֻ֤הוּand they set down it
veyanichuhuH5117 →142 times
תַחְתָּיו֙in place its
tachtavH8478 →505 times
וְיַֽעֲמֹ֔דso it may stand
veyaamodH5975 →521 times
מִמְּקוֹמ֖וֹfrom place its
mimekomoH4725 →401 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמִ֑ישׁit departs
yamishH4185 →20 times
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
יִצְעַ֤קhe cries out
yitzakH6817 →55 times
אֵלָיו֙to it
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲנֶ֔הit answers
yaanehH6030 →331 times
מִצָּרָת֖וֹfrom trouble his
mitzaratoH6869 →73 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יוֹשִׁיעֶֽנּוּ׃ סit delivers him
yoshienuH3467 →206 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 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:5
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 10:5
Through
Jeremiah 10:5Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 12:2
You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
- Psalms 115:5–8
They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
- Isaiah 41:23–24
Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.
- 1 Corinthians 12:2
Through
1 Samuel 5:3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:1
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will…
- Isaiah 46:1–2
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Isaiah 19:1
Through
Jeremiah 2:28But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:37
He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
- Deuteronomy 32:37
Through
Isaiah 46:1Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
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.
- Jeremiah 51:44
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.