3 Yahweh says, "You descendants of Jacob who were exiled,

I am not like the gods of Babylonia that must be carried;

instead, it is as though I have carried you

since you first became a nation [MET].

I carried you even before you became a nation.

4 I will be your God, and I will carry you for many years,

until it is as though [MET] your nation is an old man with gray hair.

I caused you to become a nation,

and I will sustain you and rescue you.