Isaiah 45
45
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
1“Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To #Is. 44:28Cyrus, whose #Ps. 73:23; Is. 41:13right hand I have held—
#Dan. 5:30To subdue nations before him
And #Job 12:21; Is. 45:5loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
2‘I will go before you
#Is. 40:4And make the crooked places straight;
#Ps. 107:16I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
#Is. 41:23That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who #Ex. 33:12call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4For #Is. 44:1Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5I #Deut. 4:35; 32:39; Is. 44:8am the Lord, and #Is. 45:14, 18there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
#Ps. 18:32I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6#Ps. 102:15; Is. 37:20; Mal. 1:11That they may #(Is. 11:9; 52:10)know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and #Is. 31:2; 47:11; Amos 3:6create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
8“Rain#Ps. 85:11 down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9“Woe to him who strives with #Is. 64:8his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
#Jer. 18:6; Rom. 9:20, 21Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”
11Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
#Is. 8:19“Ask Me of things to come concerning #Jer. 31:9My sons;
And concerning #Is. 29:23; 60:21; 64:8the work of My hands, you command Me.
12#Is. 42:5; Jer. 27:5I have made the earth,
And #Gen. 1:26created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And #Gen. 2:1; Neh. 9:6all their host I have commanded.
13#Is. 41:2I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall #2 Chr. 36:22; Is. 44:28build My city
And let My exiles go free,
#(Rom. 3:24)Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14Thus says the Lord:
#Ps. 68:31; 72:10, 11; Is. 14:1; 49:23; 60:9, 10, 14, 16; Zech. 8:22, 23“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over #Ps. 149:8in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, #Jer. 16:19; Zech. 8:20–23; 1 Cor. 14:25‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
#Is. 45:5There is no other God.’ ”
15Truly You are God, #Ps. 44:24; Is. 57:17who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16They shall be #Is. 44:11ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17#Is. 26:4; (Rom. 11:26)But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an #Is. 51:6everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or #Is. 29:22disgraced
Forever and ever.
18For thus says the Lord,
#Is. 42:5Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be #Gen. 1:26; Ps. 115:16; Acts 17:26inhabited:
#Is. 45:5“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19I have not spoken in #Deut. 30:11secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain’;
#Ps. 19:8; Is. 45:23; 63:1I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
20“Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
#Is. 44:9; 46:7; Jer. 10:5They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
#Is. 41:22; 43:9Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
#Is. 44:8And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22“Look to Me, and be saved,
#Ps. 22:27; 65:5All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23#Gen. 22:16; Is. 62:8; (Heb. 6:13)I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every #Rom. 14:11; (Phil. 2:10)knee shall bow,
#Deut. 6:13; Ps. 63:11; Is. 19:18; 65:16Every tongue shall take an oath.
24He shall say,
‘Surely in the Lord I have #Is. 54:17; (Jer. 23:5; 1 Cor. 1:30)righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And #Is. 41:11all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25#Is. 45:17In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and #1 Cor. 1:31shall glory.’ ”
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Isaiah 45: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.