46:1 Bel 1 kneels down,
Nebo 2 bends low.
Their images weigh down animals and beasts. 3
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. 4
46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not 5 move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
1 sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.
2 sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.
3 tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”
4 tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”
5 tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.