46
XLVI
1Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth;
Their idols are laid upon the beasts, and upon the cattle:
What were borne by you are made into loads,
A burden to the weary beast.
2They stoop, they bow down together:
They are not able to deliver the burden;
But they themselves go into captivity.
3Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel;
Ye that have been borne by me from the belly,
That have been carried from the womb.
4And even to your old age, I am the same;
And even to your gray hairs, I will carry you:
I have made, arid I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5To whom will ye liken me, and equal me?
And to whom will ye compare me, that we may be like?
6They 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 him.
7They bear him upon the shoulder; they carry him about;
They set him down in his place, and he standeth:
From his place shall he not remove;
Yea, one shall cry unto him, but he will not answer;
Nor save him from his trouble.
8Remember this, and shew yourselves men:
Bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
9Remember the former things, of old time:
For I am God, arid there is none else;
I am God, and there is none like me:
10Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times, the things that are not yet done;
Saying: My counsel shall stand:
And I will do all my pleasure:
11Calling a ravenous bird from the east,
And the man of my counsel from a far country:
Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass;
I have purposed it; I will also do it.
12Hearken unto me, ye stubborn in heart,
Ye that are far from righteousness:
13I will bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off;
And my salvation shall not tarry:
I will place salvation in Zion,
For Israel my glory.