Isaiah 45
45
1This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, the one he has anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to direct him to defeat nations and to make kings weak, to open doors before him and gates that will not be shut. 2I will go ahead of you and level the mountains.#45:2. Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint reading. I will break down bronze gates and cut through iron bars. 3I will give you hidden treasure, treasure concealed in secret places, so that you can know for sure that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
4I call you by name and I have given you a title of honor, for the sake of Jacob my servant, and Israel the one I chose, even though you don't know me. 5I am the Lord, there is no God apart from me. Apart from me there is no God. I will make you strong, even though you don't know me, 6so that everyone, from the east to the west, will know that there is no God apart from me, that I am the Lord, and there is none apart from me. 7I create light, and I make darkness, I bring peace and I bring about disaster. I am the Lord and I do all this. 8Let the rain fall from the sky above, let goodness fall from the clouds, let the earth open up to receive goodness and salvation so they can grow together. I, the Lord, created them.
9What trouble people face when they fight with their Creator—they're just pots among all the other pots on earth! Does the clay tell the potter who is shaping it, “What are you doing?” or “What you're making is so bad it's like you have no hands!” 10How bad it would be if you said to your father, “Why did you have me?” or to your mother, “Why was I ever born?”!
11This is what the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel, your Creator: You can ask me about things to come. But are you going to lecture me about my children and what I do? 12I'm the one who made the earth, and I created human beings to live there. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordered all the stars to come into being.#45:12. “To come into being”: supplied for clarity.
13Because I do what's right, I will encourage him#45:13. Referring back to Cyrus mentioned in verse 1. and smooth out all the roads he takes. He will rebuild my city and will set my exiles free without being paid or bribed to do so, says the Lord Almighty.
14This is what the Lord says: The productive Egyptians and the Ethiopian traders, as well as the tall Sabean people, will come over to you and will belong to you. They will walk behind you in chains and bow down to you, pleading with you, saying, “God is certainly with you, and there is no other God besides him.”
15Yet you are a God who hides himself, God of Israel, Savior. 16Everyone who makes idols are ashamed and humiliated, all of them are disgraced. 17But Israel will be saved by the Lord with a salvation that lasts forever. You will never be ashamed or disgraced for all eternity.
18For this is what the Lord says, the God who created the heavens, who formed and made the earth, he founded it. He didn't make it to be left empty, but formed it to be inhabited. He is the one who says, I am the Lord, and there is no God apart from me. 19I haven't been talking in secret in an obscure place. I didn't tell the descendants of Jacob: Look for me in a place where no one can be found.#45:19. “In a place where no one can be found”: literally, “emptiness.” I, the Lord, tell the truth—I say what's right.
20Gather yourselves together, and come, come close, you refugees of the nations. Aren't they stupid, these people who carry around their wooden idols, and who pray to a god that can't save them? 21Discuss this together, and then speak up, present your case. Who predicted this long ago? Who said what would happen in the future back in the past? Wasn't that me, the Lord? There is no other God except me, no other God who does what is right, and who saves. There is no God apart from me. 22Everyone on earth, come to me and be saved, for I am God and there is no God apart from me. 23I have sworn by my own self, I have spoken what is right, and I won't ever go back on it. Everyone shall bow before me; everyone shall acknowledge me. 24They will say about me, “Salvation and strength can only be found in the Lord.” Everyone who has fought against him will come to him and will be ashamed. 25But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be made right, and they will glory in him.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 45
45
God Chooses Cyrus to Free Israel
1This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his appointed king:
“I hold your right hand.
I will help you defeat nations.
I will help you take other kings’ power away.
I will open doors for you
so city gates will not stop you.
2I will go before you.
And I will make the mountains flat.
I will break down the bronze gates of the cities.
I will cut through the iron bars on the gates.
3I will give you the wealth that is stored away.
And I will give you hidden riches.
I will do this so you will know I am the Lord.
I, the God of Israel, call you by name.
4I do these things for my servants, the people of Jacob.
I do these things for my chosen people, the Israelites.
Cyrus, I call you by name.
I give you a title of honor even though you don’t know me.
5I am the Lord. There is no other God.
I am the only God.
I will make you strong
even though you don’t know me.
6I do these things so everyone will know
there is no other God.
From the east to the west they will know
I alone am the Lord.
7I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause troubles.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8“Sky above, make victory fall like rain.
Clouds, pour down victory.
May the earth receive it.
May salvation grow.
May victory grow with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9“How terrible it will be for those who argue with the God who made them.
They are like one piece of broken pottery among many pieces.
The clay does not ask the potter,
‘What are you doing?’
The thing that is made doesn’t say to its maker,
‘You have no hands.’
10How terrible it will be for the child who says to his father,
‘Why are you giving me life?’
How terrible it will be for the child who says to his mother,
‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”
11The Lord is the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker.
He says this:
“You ask me about what will happen.
You question me about my children.
You give me orders about what I have made.
12I made the earth.
And I made all the people living on it.
With my own hands I stretched out the skies.
I command all the armies in the sky.
13I will bring Cyrus to do good things.
And I will make his work easy.
Cyrus will rebuild my city,
and he will set my people free.
Cyrus has not been paid to do these things.
The Lord of heaven’s armies says this.”
14The Lord says,
“The things made in Egypt and Cush
and the tall people of Seba
will come to you.
They will become yours.
The Sabeans will walk behind you.
They will come along in chains.
They will bow down before you.
They will pray to you, saying,
‘God is with you.
And there is no other God.’”
15You are a God that people cannot see.
You are the God and Savior of Israel.
16All the people who make idols will be put to great shame.
They will go off together in disgrace.
17But Israel will be saved by the Lord.
That salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be put to shame.
18The Lord created the heavens.
He is the God
who formed the earth.
He made the earth.
But he did not want it to be empty.
He wanted life to be on the earth.
This is what the Lord says:
“I am the Lord. There is no other God.
19I did not speak in secret.
I did not hide my words somewhere in a dark place.
I did not tell the family of Jacob
to look for me in empty places.
I am the Lord, and I speak the truth.
I say what is right.
20“You people have escaped from other nations.
So gather together and come before me.
Come near together.
People who carry idols of wood don’t know what they are doing.
They pray to a god who cannot save them.
21Tell these people to come to me.
Let them talk about these things together.
Who told you long ago that this would happen?
Who told about it long ago?
I, the Lord, said these things.
There is no other God besides me.
I am the only good God. I am the Savior.
There is no other God.
22“All people everywhere,
follow me and be saved.
I am God. There is no other God.
23I will make a promise by my own power.
And my promise is true.
What I say will not be changed.
I promise that everyone will bow before me.
Everyone will promise to follow me.
24People will say, ‘Goodness and power
come only from the Lord.’”
Everyone who has been angry with the Lord
will come to him and be ashamed.
25But with the Lord’s help, the people of Israel
will be found to be good.
And they will praise him.
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