📖 Isaiah 46 is breathtaking.

The Lord contrasts powerless idols with His unstoppable power, declaring:

• I have made
• I will bear
• I will carry
• I will deliver

Five times He says “I” to show His personal involvement with Israel’s preservation and future restoration.

“For Israel My glory” (Isa. 46:13) makes it crystal clear: God is not finished with His chosen people. His promises will stand.

Author & Audience

• Author: The prophet Isaiah, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
• Audience: Primarily the people of Judah, but prophetically all Israel, with an extended application to the nations who witness God’s dealings with His chosen people. 

Date & Setting

• Date: Around 700–681 BC, during the reign of Hezekiah. 
• Historical Context: Assyria was the immediate threat in Isaiah’s day, but this prophecy looks ahead over 100 years to Judah’s Babylonian captivity and beyond—to their ultimate deliverance and restoration. 
• Prophetic Context: This chapter is part of the “Book of Comfort” (Isaiah 40–48), where God reassures Israel of His covenant faithfulness in contrast to the utter helplessness of idols. 

Purpose of Isaiah 46

1. To contrast the living God with lifeless idols—He carries His people, idols must be carried by people. 
2. To declare His personal involvement in Israel’s history, present, and future restoration (“I” appears five times). 
3. To remind Israel of His sovereignty—He declares the end from the beginning. 
4. To call stubborn hearts back to trust in His unfailing promises. 
5. To affirm Israel’s identity as God’s chosen people “for Israel My glory” (v.13). 

Isaiah 46:1–13 Verse by Verse📖

Verses 1–2

“Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity.”

• Bel and Nebo were chief Babylonian gods. In prophetic irony, they “bow down” and “stoop” in defeat—helpless, carried away as plunder. 
• Unlike the living God, these idols can’t carry their worshippers—they are a burden even to animals. 

Verses 3–4

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

• Tender covenant language—God has sustained Israel from birth to old age. 
• This is the first use of “I” showing personal commitment: I am He… I have made… I will bear… I will carry… I will deliver. 

Verses 5–7

“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike? They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; they prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands; from its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer nor save him out of his trouble.”

• God challenges any comparison—idols are man-made, must be carried, and cannot respond or save. 
• This rebukes Israel for adopting the empty worship of surrounding nations. 

Verses 8–9

“Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”

• A call to spiritual courage—remember history and God’s unique acts on Israel’s behalf. 
• This is the second use of “I”—underscoring God’s exclusivity and supremacy. 

Verses 10–11

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

• God’s sovereignty over time—He alone reveals and accomplishes His plan. 
• The “bird of prey” is Cyrus of Persia, who would later free Israel from Babylon (Ezra 1:1–4). 
• The third and fourth “I” statements: I have spoken… I will bring it to pass… I have purposed… I will do it. 

Verses 12–13

“Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness: I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory.”

• God addresses Israel’s stubbornness but affirms His plan for their ultimate salvation. 
• This is the fifth “I”—the climax: I bring… I will place. 
• “For Israel My glory” ties this promise directly to the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants—this is not about the Church; it’s God’s specific covenant with Israel. 

Key Themes

1. God’s Sovereignty—He declares and accomplishes His will without fail. 
2. God’s Covenant Love—Even in Israel’s rebellion, His promises stand. 
3. Idol Futility vs. God’s Power—False gods burden; the true God carries. 
4. Prophetic Precision—Cyrus’ role predicted over a century before his birth. 
5. Future Restoration—God’s salvation will be in Zion for Israel’s glory. 

Application for Believers Today

• Trust God’s Plan: He has written history’s end before the beginning. 
• Reject Modern Idols: Anything we rely on more than God is a powerless substitute. 
• Hope in God’s Faithfulness: If He is faithful to Israel despite centuries of stubbornness, He will surely keep His promises to you in Christ.