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
15:2 They went up to the temple, 5
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 6
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 7 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 8
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 Heb “house.”
6 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
7 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
8 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.