Isaiah 46:6-8 New English Translation
6 Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale[a]
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not[b] move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
8 Remember this, so you can be brave.[c]
Think about it, you rebels![d]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:6 tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.
- Isaiah 46:7 tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.
- Isaiah 46:8 tn The meaning of the verb אָשַׁשׁ (ʾashash, which appears here in the Hitpolel stem) is uncertain. BDB 84 s.v. אשׁשׁ relates it to a root meaning “found, establish” in Arabic; HALOT 100 s.v. II אשׁשׁ gives the meaning “pluck up courage.” The imperative with vav (ו) may indicate purpose following the preceding imperative.
- Isaiah 46:8 tn Heb “return [it], rebels, to heart”; NRSV “recall it to mind, you transgressors.”
New English Translation (NET)
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