Isaiah 45
45
1“Cyrus is my anointed king.
I take hold of his right hand.
I give him the power
to bring nations under his control.
I help him strip kings of their power
to go to war against him.
I break city gates open so he can go through them.
I say to him,
2‘I will march out ahead of you.
I will make the mountains level.
I will break down bronze gates.
I will cut through their heavy iron bars.
3I will give you treasures that are hidden away.
I will give you riches that are stored up in secret places.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
I am the God of Israel.
I am sending for you by name.
4Cyrus, I am sending for you by name.
I am doing it for the good of the family of Jacob.
They are my servant.
I am doing it for Israel.
They are my chosen people.
You do not know anything about me.
But I am giving you a title of honor.
5I am the Lord. There is no other Lord.
I am the one and only God.
You do not know anything about me.
But I will make you strong.
6Then people will know there is no God but me.
Everyone from where the sun rises in the east
to where it sets in the west will know it.
I am the Lord.
There is no other Lord.
7I cause light to shine. I also create darkness.
I bring good times. I also create hard times.
I do all these things. I am the Lord.
8“ ‘Rain down my godliness, you heavens above.
Let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide to receive it.
Let freedom spring to life.
Let godliness grow richly along with it.
I have created all these things.
I am the Lord.’ ”
9How terrible it will be for anyone who argues with their Maker!
They are like a broken piece of pottery lying on the ground.
Does clay say to a potter,
“What are you making?”
Does a pot say,
“The potter doesn’t have any skill”?
10How terrible it will be for anyone who says to a father,
“Why did you give me life?”
How terrible for anyone who says to a mother,
“Why have you brought me into the world?”
11The Lord is the Holy One of Israel.
He made them.
He says to them,
“Are you asking me about what will happen to my children?
Are you telling me what I should do with what my hands have made?
12I made the earth.
I created human beings to live there.
My own hands spread out the heavens.
I put all the stars in their places.
13I will stir up Cyrus and help him win his battles.
I will make all his roads straight.
He will rebuild Jerusalem.
My people have been taken away from their country.
But he will set them free.
I will not pay him to do it.
He will not receive a reward for it,”
says the Lord who rules over all.
14The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem,
“You will get everything Egypt produces.
You will receive everything the people of Cush
and the tall Sabeans get in trade.
All of it will belong to you.
And all these people will walk behind you as slaves.
They will be put in chains and come over to you.
They will bow down to you.
They will admit,
‘God is with you.
There is no other God.’ ”
15You are a God who has been hiding yourself.
You are the God of Israel. You save us.
16All those who make statues of gods will be put to shame.
They will be dishonored.
They will be led away in shame together.
17But the Lord will save Israel.
He will save them forever.
They will never be put to shame or dishonored.
That will be true for all time to come.
18The Lord created the heavens.
He is God.
He formed the earth and made it.
He set it firmly in place.
He didn’t create it to be empty.
Instead, he formed it for people to live on.
He says, “I am the Lord.
There is no other Lord.
19I have not spoken in secret.
I have not spoken from a dark place.
I have not said to Jacob’s people,
‘It is useless to look for me.’
I am the Lord. I always speak the truth.
I always say what is right.
20“Come together, you people of the nations
who escaped from Babylon.
Gather together and come into court.
Only people who do not know anything
would carry around gods that are made out of wood.
They pray to false gods that can’t save them.
21Tell me what will happen. State your case.
Talk it over together.
Who spoke long ago about what would happen?
Who said it a long time ago?
I did. I am the Lord.
I am the one and only God.
I always do what is right.
I am the one who saves.
There is no God but me.
22“All you who live anywhere on earth,
turn to me and be saved.
I am God. There is no other God.
23I have made a promise in my own name.
I have spoken with complete honesty.
I will not take back a single word. I said,
‘Everyone will kneel down to me.
Everyone’s mouth will make promises in my name.’
24They will say, ‘The Lord is the only one who can save us.
Only he can make us strong.’ ”
All those who have been angry with the Lord will come to him.
And they will be put to shame.
25But the Lord will save all the people of Israel.
And so they will boast about the Lord.
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Isaiah 45: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus, the Lord’s Chosen One
1This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.
2This is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.#45:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
4“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
5I am the Lord;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,
6so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.
8“Open up, O heavens,
and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
I, the Lord, created them.
9“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
10How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
‘Why did you make me this way?’”
11This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
13I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,
and I will guide his actions.
He will restore my city and free my captive people—
without seeking a reward!
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Future Conversion of Gentiles
14This is what the Lord says:
“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,#45:14 Hebrew Cushites. and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
There is no other.’”
15Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.
16All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.
17But the Lord will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.
18For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
19I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel#45:19 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1. to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.
20“Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
21Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.
22Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.
23I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.#45:23 Hebrew will confess; Greek version reads will declare allegiance to God. Compare Rom 14:11.”
24The people will declare,
“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.
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