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.
They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borne by me from their birth, that have been carried from the womb;
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.
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship.
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.
Remember this, and {Or, stand fast}show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
Remember the former things of old: {Or, that}for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me;
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;
calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of {Another reading is, his.}my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.
Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness:
I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will {Or, give salvation in Zion, and my glory unto Israel}place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 46,1 Jes 46,1
and, behold, here {Or, come chariots of men}cometh a troop of men, {Or, a pair of horsemen}horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.
In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.
They are like a {Or, pillar}palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.
So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that is should not be moved.
For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Jehovah.
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen {Or, before it}upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
Of Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; {Or, the high fort}Misgab is put to shame and {Or, dismayed}broken down.
The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be brought to silence: the sword shall pursue thee.
The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!
Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
For, because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
And the destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Jehovah hath spoken.
Give wings unto Moab, {Or, for she must fly: and her cities &c.}that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah {Or, deceitfully}negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him them that {Hebrew: tilt (a vessel).}pour off, and they shall {Hebrew: tilt (a vessel).}pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their {Or, jars}bottles in pieces.
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
How say ye, We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?
Moab is laid waste, and {Or, his cities are gone up in smoke}they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
All ye that are round about him, bemoan him, and all ye that know his name; say, How is the strong {Or, sceptre}staff broken, the beautiful rod!
O thou daughter that {Or, art sealed}dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds.
O {Hebrew: inhabitress.}inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What hath been done?
Moab is put to shame; for it is {Or, dismayed}broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
And judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,
and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is {Or, broken down}dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are {Or, broken down}dismayed.
And I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.