Yeshayah 45
45
1Thus saith Hashem to His Moshiach, to Koresh (Cyrus), whose yamin (right hand) I have taken hold of, to subdue Goyim before him; and the loins of melachim I ungird, to open before him the double doors and the she'arim (gates), that they may not continue shut;
2I will go before thee, and make straight the crooked paths; I will break down the delatot nechoshet, and cut through their barzel (iron) bars;
3And I will give thee the otzarot choshech, and hidden riches of mistarim (secret places) that thou mayest know that I, Hashem, Who call thee by thy shem (name), am Elohei Yisroel.
4For the sake of avdi Ya'akov, and Yisroel My Bachir, I have even called thee by thy shem (name); I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.
5I am Hashem, and there is none other, there is no Elohim besides Me; I equipped thee, though thou hast not known Me;
6That they may know from the rising of the shemesh, even to the ma'arav (west, setting place of the sun), that there is none apart from Me. I am Hashem, and there is no other.#45:6 Elohim
7I form ohr, and create choshech; I make shalom, and create rah; I Hashem worketh all these things.
8Cause [the rain] to trickle down, ye Shomayim, from above, and let the blue sky pour down tzedek; let eretz open, and let Yesha (salvation) blossom, and let tzedakah (righteousness) tatzmiach (spring up; Tzemach) together; I Hashem have created it.
9Woe unto him that quarreleth with his Yotzer — a potsherd among the potsherds of adamah. Shall the chomer (clay) say to the Yotzer of it, What art Thou making? Or Thy po'al (work) hath no handles?
10Woe unto him that saith unto his Av, What begettest thou? Or to the isha, What hast thou given birth to?
11Thus saith Hashem, Kadosh Yisroel, and its Yotzer, Will ye ask Me of otiyyot (things to come, future things) concerning My banim, and will ye command Me regarding the po'al of My hands?
12I made Eretz, and I created adam upon it; I, even My hands, have stretched out Shomayim, and all their tzeva have I commanded.
13I have aroused him#45:13 Cyrus in tzedek, and I will make straight all the darkhei of him; he shall rebuild my city, and he shall release of the Golus of Mine, not for price nor reward, saith Hashem Tzva'os.
14Thus saith Hashem, The toil of Mitzrayim, and merchandise of Kush and of the Seva'im (Sabeans, those from Seba in Arabia), men of tall stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall cast themselves down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely El (G-d) is with thee; and there is none other, no other Elohim.
15Verily Thou art El (G-d) that hidest Thyself, O Elohei Yisroel, Moshi'a.
16They shall be put to shame, and also confounded, all of them; they shall go to confusion together that are charashei tzirim (crafters of images, idols).
17But Yisroel shall be saved in Hashem with a Teshuat Olamim (an everlasting salvation); ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded ad olemei ad (for all eternity).
18For thus saith Hashem Borei HaShomayim hu HaElohim Yotzer ha'aretz and its Maker; He hath established it, He created it not tohu (chaos), He formed it to be inhabited; I am Hashem; and there is no other.#45:18 G-d
19I have not spoken baseter (in secret), in a makom eretz choshech; I said not unto the zera Ya'akov, Seek ye Me tohu (in chaos); I am Hashem, the One speaking tzedek, proclaiming meisharim (upright things).
20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are fugitives escaped of the Goyim; they have no da'as (knowledge, rationality) that burden themselves with their etz pesel (wooden idol), the ones davening to an el lo yoshia (g-d who cannot save).
21Declare ye, and approach; yes, let them take counsel together. Who hath made this known from mikedem (from olden time)? Who hath preached it from long ago? Have not I, Hashem? And there is no other Elohim besides Me: El Tzaddik and Moshi'a; there is none besides Me.
22Turn unto Me, and be ye saved, kol afsei Eretz (all the ends of the Earth); I am El (G-d), and there is no other.#45:22 G-d
23I have sworn by Myself, the Word has gone out of My mouth of tzedakah (righteousness), and shall not yashuv (return, be revoked), that unto Me kol berekh (every knee) shall bow, kol lashon (every tongue) shall swear.
24Only in Hashem, it shall be said of Me, is tzedakot and oz; even to Him shall men come; and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed.
25Kol zera Yisroel shall yitzdeku (be justified, become righteous) and shall glory in Hashem.
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Yeshayah 45: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Isaiah 45
45
1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen#tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.” one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold#sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings,#tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
2 “I will go before you
and level mountains.#tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) makes little, if any, sense here. It is probably a corruption of an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”).
Bronze doors I will shatter
and iron bars#tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.” I will hack through.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,#tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”
riches stashed away in secret places,
so you may recognize that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize#tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.” me.
5 I am the Lord, I have no peer,#tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.
there is no God but me.
I arm you for battle,#tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV). even though you do not recognize#tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.” me.
6 I do this#tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. so people#tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.” will recognize from east to west
that there is no God but me;
I am the Lord, I have no peer.
7 I am#tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6. the one who forms light
and creates darkness;#tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”
the one who brings about peace
and creates calamity.#sn This verses affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).
I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.
8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers#tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.” of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it#tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.” so salvation may grow,#tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).
and deliverance may sprout up#tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad). along with it.
I, the Lord, create it.#tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).
The Lord Gives a Warning
9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger,#tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”
one who is like a mere#tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification. shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter,#tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”
“What in the world#tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question. are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!”#tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”
10 Danger awaits one who says#tn Heb “Woe [to] one who says” (NASB and NIV both similar); NCV “How terrible it will be.” to his father,
“What in the world#tn See the note at v. 9. This phrase occurs a second time later in this verse. are you fathering?”
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?”#sn Verses 9-10 may allude to the exiles’ criticism that the Lord does not appear to know what he is doing.
11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel,#sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4. the one who formed him,
concerning things to come:#tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
“How dare you question me#tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways. about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with#tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways. the work of my own hands!
12 I made the earth,
I created the people who live#tn The words “who live” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. on it.
It was me – my hands#tn Heb “I, even my hands”; NASB “I stretched out…with My hands”; NRSV “it was my hands that stretched out.” The same construction occurs at the beginning of v. 13. stretched out the sky,#tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
I give orders to all the heavenly lights.#tn Heb “and to all their host I commanded.” See the notes at 40:26.
13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him;#tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit#tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.” of Egypt and the revenue#tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.” of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you#tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.” and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains.#sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
They will bow down to you
and pray to you:#sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.
‘Truly God is with#tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.” you; he has no peer;#tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.
there is no other God!’”
15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,
O God of Israel, deliverer!
16 They will all be ashamed and embarrassed;
those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.#tn “together they will walk in humiliation, the makers of images.”
17 Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord;#tn Heb “Israel will be delivered by the Lord [with] a permanent deliverance.”
you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.#tn Heb “you will not be ashamed and you will not be humiliated for ages of future time.”
18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky –
he is the true God,#tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order,#tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.
he formed it to be inhabited –
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place.#tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’#tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements.#tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”
20 Gather together and come!
Approach together, you refugees from the nations!
Those who carry wooden idols know nothing,
those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.
21 Tell me! Present the evidence!#tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers;#tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
there is none but me.
22 Turn to me so you can be delivered,#tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
23 I solemnly make this oath#tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.” –
what I say is true and reliable:#tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”
‘Surely every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will solemnly affirm;#tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”
24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’”#tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
All who are angry at him will cower before him.#tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”
25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord
and will boast in him.#tn Heb “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and boast.”
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