Isaiah 46:1-13

Babylon's false gods have no power

1 Bel bends down to the ground.

Nebo lies down low.

Their images are heavy loads on the backs of animals.

The animals become tired and weak as they carry them away.

2 Those gods fall down and they lie together on the ground!

They have no power to rescue their images.

The gods themselves go as prisoners to a foreign land,

together with their images.

3 The Lord says,

‘Listen to me, you family of Jacob.

Yes, listen to me, all you Israelites who are still alive.

I have taken care of you since you first became a nation.

I have carried you since you were born.

4 I will continue to take care of you until you are old,

until your hair becomes grey.

I made you who you are,

and I will supply everything that you need.

I will carry you,

and I will save you.

5 You know that there is no God like me!

You cannot say about any god,

that he is the same as me.

6 Some people make idols for themselves.

They pour out gold coins from their purse.

They weigh silver on their scales.

They pay a worker with special skill to use the silver and the gold

to make a god.

Then they bend down low in front of it,

and they worship it!

7 They lift the idol onto their shoulders

and they carry it home.

They put it in its place and it stands there.

It cannot move anywhere else.

If someone calls out to it for help,

it does not answer.

It cannot save anyone from their trouble.

8 Remember this, you people who do not obey me.

Think about it carefully.

9 Remember all the things that I did a long time ago.

I am God. There is nobody else like me.

There is no other God, except me.

10 From the beginning, I say what will happen at the end.

Long ago, I spoke about future things that have not yet happened.

I say this: “My purpose will not change.

I will do everything that I want to do.”

11 Now I will call somebody to come from the east.

He will come down quickly,

like an eagle that catches small birds to eat.

He will come from a country that is far away.

He will do for me what I want to do.

Yes, I will surely do what I have decided to do.

I have given the command,

and I will cause it to happen.

12 Listen to me, you people who refuse to obey me.

You choose not to do anything that is right.

13 But now I am ready to rescue you,

and I will show you what is right.

This will soon happen!

I will save the people in Zion.

I will make Israel great and beautiful.’