Isaiah 46
The idols of the Babylonians, Bel and Nebo, have been destroyed and their people are being taken captive. In contrast, God reminds the Israelites that He has carried and sustained them from birth to old age and will continue to do so. God challenges the Israelites to compare Him to the idols they have made, which are powerless and unable to save. God declares that He is the only true God, and His plans will be fulfilled, including bringing justice and salvation to His people in Zion.
1Bel has been broken. Nebo has been crushed. Their idols have been placed upon beasts and cattle, your grievous heavy burdens, even unto exhaustion2They have been melted down, or have been smashed together. They were not able to save the one who carried them, and their life will go into captivity3Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who are carried in my bosom, who were born from my womb4Even to your old age, I am the same. And even with your grey hairs, I will carry you. I have made you, and I will sustain you. I will carry you, and I will save you5To whom would you liken me, or equate me, or compare me, or consider me to be similar6You take gold from a bag, and you weigh silver on a scale, so as to hire a goldsmith to make a god. And they fall prostrate and adore7They carry him on their shoulders, supporting him, and they set him in his place. And he will stand still and will not move from his place. But even when they will cry out to him, he will not hear. He will not save them from tribulation8Remember this, and be confounded. Return, you transgressors, to the heart9Remember the past ages. For I am God, and there is no other god. There is no one like me10From the beginning, I announce the last things, and from the start, the things that have not yet been done, saying: My plan will stand firm, and my entire will shall be done11I call a bird from the east, and from a far away land, the man of my will. And I have spoken it, and I will carry it out. I have created, and I will act12Hear me, you who are hard of heart, who are far from justice13I have brought my justice near. It will not be far away, and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation in Zion, and my glory in Israel
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