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 64:3

64:3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, ⁴ 

you came down, and the mountains trembled ⁵  before you.

[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.

[64:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “[for which] we were not waiting.”

[64:3]  ⁵ tn See the note at v. 1.