Isaiah 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 

Jud 18:17,18,24; 2Sa 5:21; Isa 36:18,19; Isa 37:12,19; Isa 44:17; Isa 45:20; Jer 43:12,13; Jer 48:7

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

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”).

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.