Isaiah 46:2

46:2 Together they bend low and kneel down;

they are unable to rescue the images; ¹ 

they themselves ²  head off into captivity. ³ 

Isaiah 46:7

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 ⁴  move from its place.

Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;

it does not deliver him from his distress.

[46:2]  ¹ tn Heb “[the] burden,” i.e., their images, the heavy burden carried by the animals.

[46:2]  ² tn נַפְשָׁם (nafsham, “their souls/lives”) is equivalent here to a third masculine plural suffix, but the third feminine singular verb הָלָכָה (halakhah, “they go”) agrees with the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, life”).

[46:2]  ³ sn The downfall of Babylon is depicted here. The idols are carried off by the victorious enemy; the gods are likened to defeated captives who cower before the enemy and are taken into exile.

[46:7]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.