Isaiah 45
45
1“This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2I will go before you
and will level the mountains#45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,
those who are nothing but potsherds
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?
10Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11“This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12It is I who made the earth
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.
13I will raise up Cyrus#45:13 Hebrew him in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,
says the Lord Almighty.”
14This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,#45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
and those tall Sabeans—
they will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,
coming over to you in chains.
They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.’ ”
15Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself,
the God and Savior of Israel.
16All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;
they will go off into disgrace together.
17But Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,
to ages everlasting.
18For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
20“Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
21Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.
22“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
24They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’ ”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
25But all the descendants of Israel
will find deliverance in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.
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Isaiah 45: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus Obeys the Lord's Commands
1The Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen one:
I have taken hold
of your right hand
to help you capture nations
and remove kings from power.
City gates will open for you;
not one will stay closed.
2As I lead you,
I will level mountains#45.2 mountains: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “rising waves.”
and break the iron bars
on bronze gates of cities.
3I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the Lord God of Israel,
have called you by name.
4Cyrus, you don't even know me!
But I have called you by name
and highly honored you#45.4 But … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
because of Israel,
my chosen servant.
5Only I am the Lord!
There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
though you don't know me.
6Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the Lord.
No other gods are real.
7I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
I, the Lord, do all this.
8Tell the heavens
to send down justice
like showers of rain.
Prepare the earth
for my saving power
to sprout and produce justice
that I, the Lord, create.#45.8 Prepare … create: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
The Lord's Mighty Power
The Lord said:
9 #
Is 29.16; Ro 9.20. Israel, you have no right
to argue with your Creator.
You are merely a clay pot
shaped by a potter.
The clay doesn't ask,
“Why did you make me this way?
Where are the handles?”
10Children don't have the right
to demand of their parents,
“What have you done
to make us what we are?”
11I am the Lord, the Creator,
the holy God of Israel.
Do you dare question me
about my own nation
or about what I have done?
12I created the world
and covered it with people;
I stretched out the sky
and filled it with stars.
13I have done the right thing
by placing Cyrus in power,
and I will make the roads easy
for him to follow.
I am the Lord All-Powerful!
Cyrus will rebuild my city
and set my people free
without being paid a thing.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Alone Can Save
14My people, I, the Lord, promise
that the riches of Egypt
and the treasures of Ethiopia#45.14 Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
will belong to you.
You will force into slavery
those tall people of Seba.#45.14 Seba: See the note at 43.3.
They will bow down and say,
“The only true God is with you;
there are no other gods.”
15People of Israel,
your God is a mystery,
though he alone can save.
16Anyone who makes idols
will be confused
and terribly disgraced.
17But Israel, I, the Lord,
will always keep you safe
and free from shame.
Everyone Is Invited
18The Lord alone is God!
He created the heavens
and made a world
where people can live,
instead of creating
an empty desert.
The Lord alone is God;
there are no others.
19The Lord did not speak
in a dark secret place
or command Jacob's descendants
to search for him in vain.
The Lord speaks the truth,
and this is what he says
20to every survivor
from every nation:
“Gather around me!
Learn how senseless it is
to worship wooden idols
or pray to helpless gods.
21“Why don't you get together
and meet me in court?
Didn't I tell you long ago
what would happen?
I am the only God!
There are no others.
I bring about justice,
and have the power to save.
22“I invite the whole world
to turn to me and be saved.
I alone am God!
No others are real.
23 #
Ro 14.11; Phil 2.10,11. I have made a solemn promise,
one that won't be broken:
Everyone will bow down
and worship me.
24They will admit that I alone
can bring about justice.
Everyone who is angry with me
will be terribly ashamed
and will turn to me.
25I, the Lord, will give
victory and great honor
to the people of Israel.”
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